Website: www.carven.fr

Carmen de Tommasso was born in 1909 in Chateauroux, France. She originally studied architecture then changed over to fashion design. She started her house in 1945 in Paris, and named it "Carven" (a modification of her first name.) She married Philippe Mallet, brother of famous architect Robert Mallet-Stevens.

She found difficulty in finding clothes to fit her own tiny figure and so she specialized in designing for the petite woman and adjusted the proportions of accessories accordingly. In 1956, her house introduced two sweater collections, which became the first in a long line of licensed products market worldwide.

Carven was known for her ultra-feminine detailing on clothing, such as white on white and lace, and embroidery trim. She produced delicately scaled clothing.

The picture of Madame Carmen de Tommaso at the top of the page, was taken in 1962. The right hand picture is of a silk-jersey evening dress inspired by antiquity shown in the magazine l'Official at Christmas 1948. The left hand picture below is a wedding dress from 1992.

In 1968 Carven created its jewellery line and produced its first menswear collection.

In 1972, Carven became well established in Japan, particularly because its petite womenswear appealed to the smaller Japanese woman.

In 1974 Carven won the tender to make uniforms for the ladies working in the Paris airports, and for the air hostesses of Air France.

Madame Carven's second husband was Swiss businessman Rene Grog (1896-1981) Vice-President of Agfa-Gevaert France. He amassed a great collection of French 18th century objets d'art. Madame Carven donated her husband's priceless collection to the Louvre where nearly a hundred works are now on permanent display.

In 1993, Maguy Muzy was appointed designer of the Carven haute couture collection. She was followed by Angelo Tarlazzi in 1995, who remained till 1998. Edward Achour followed.

In 1998 Madame Carven was invited to Thailand, and at the age of nearly 90, she took a group of French models to Bangkok and put on a retrospective show of half a century of elegance at the Oriental Hotel in Bangkok.

From January to June 2002, there was a Retrospective Exhibition of Madame Carven's collections at the Musee Galleria of the Fashion Mode in Paris. She donated nearly 100 dresses from her archives which were later made into a permanent collection.

The house of Carven (perfume, couture and licences) has been bought over by the Daniel Harlant Group.

Pascal Millet

In 2002 Pascal Millet took over the design for the house of Carven. Born in the mid-1960's, Millet worked for Givenchy, John Galliano and Alexander McQueen. His first collection for Carven was Fall 2002.

This was a great success, showing to a crowd of upscale clients who appreciated the interesting and wearable garments.

Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2003

On January 22nd, 2003, Millet showed the Carven Haute Couture collection for 2003 in Paris at the Hotel Intercontinental. It was again a collection of beautiful, elegant, sophisticated gowns.

Haute Couture Fall/Winter 2003

In July, the Fall collection was shown in Paris. Pascal Millet presented only 30 pieces, but they were of exceptional beauty. One dress in rose silk crepe and another evening gown of plum silk interlaced with white satin really pleased the audience of Carven's house clients. The timing of the show was unfortunate, sandwiched between Valentino and Gaultier, but still Carven's loyal clients attended.

Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2004

Pascal Millet presented a beautiful couture collection in Paris in January 2004. He mixed tailored and fluid silhouettes and very wearable pieces. The Spanish-inspired gowns were a wonder of draping and layered flounces, with emphasis on the shoulders. His audience was enthralled.

Haute Couture Fall 2004

Again, Pascal Millet presented a very elegant and sophisticated collection for the house of Carven for Fall 2004 in Paris in July 2004. A picture from the show is on the left.

New owner for Carven

Arco International, the maker of luxury leather goods, has purchased the house of Carven for a reported 4 million Euros from businessman Daniel Harland who had taken over the company in 1998 and relaunched the haute couture activities. Designer Pascal Millet will continue to be the creative heart of the house.

Haute Couture Autumn/Winter 2005

The Haute Couture collections for Autumn/Winter 2005 were held in Paris in July 2005. Pascal Millet presented the collection for the house of Carven and one of his beautiful creations is shown on the right. The show was very well attended and his collection admired.

2005