FAMOUS MANNEQUIN

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 111, 12 May 1936, Page 4

FAMOUS MANNEQUIN

the designing of clothes. g The arrival in Auckland recently of Miss Margaret Vyner, a popular mannequin and reputed to be the most beautiful woman in Australia, created much interest. She was on her way back to England after taking part in the Him “The Flying Doctor.’* Before leaving for England two years ago Miss Vyner had considerable experience as a mannequin in the large Sydney and Melbourne stores. Since then, however, her career has been little , short of meteoric, until to-day she is known as the favourite model and manp noqnin of the great Patou, whose death occurred recently in Paris. For the j last six weeks Miss Vyner has been visiting her home in Australia on a. combined business and holiday trip, in , the course of which she designed the frocking for “The Flying Doctor,’’ the cinesound film recently completed in Australia, the cast of which included Mr. Charles Farrell. Most women will kuow the magical name of Patou, the famous dress designer, and to hear from his favourite mannequin, the methods of his work makes one realise his sheer artistry and understand what a loss his death meant to the world of fashion. “He was indeed a remarkable man,” 1 said Miss Vyner in an interview. "To be a mannequin in his salon was a privilege and an experience which I shall never forget.” “This is how Patau created his models. He would collect around him a pile of patterns, summon his mannequins and his secretary. Taking the first design from the table he would examine it, select a suitable material, and then loc-k around for the right mannequin. Perhaps he would consider that a blonde was the very- one he wanted. Then ho would drape the material on the model and stand back and survey the effect. Perhaps a brunette would be more suitable—or a “red head.’’ With the greatest care Patou selected the right type of mannequin. Having made up his mind, he would send for the best of his dressmakers to handle that particular kind of frock, and instruct her to make a perfect model, using a coarse linen. This then became the pattern, and if the ultimate material were to be a striped one, stripes were drawn on his pattern. When everything was exactly as he wanted it, flowers, or a belt or girdle chosen, then Patou allowed the model to be made for the mannequin to parade. Mannequins, sab] Miss Vyner, were not always beautiful. Indeed, many of them were distinctly plain. But their figures had to be neat. Long legs were not essential, for many gowns required a short type to show them to advan tage, but whether tall or short, the mannequin had to have neat bones and narrow hips. When she first wont to Patou’s salon Miss Vyner was told to watch the other mannequins walk. At first she thought this a waste of time, for it seemed to her a very natural thing to walk naturally. But Patou insisted that she spend at least six weeks watching, and it was only then that he allowed her to appear in his collections. Her training also included instruction in how to wear the clothes. Wearing just a short tunic, she was told to imagine that she had on a sports suit, a long, clinging evening frock, or a particularly fluffy negligee, and was then asked to walk around the room as though she were parading the particular style to advantage. “And it’s not very simple at first,” said Miss Vyner, “to swagger about in imaginary tweeds, to be sophisticatedly bored in imaginary full evening dress, or tn ■ be sufficiently relaxed in an imaginary rest robe. While she was working under Patou in Paris, Miss Vyner made several exhibition tours with him to IDeauville, Cannes and other famous places of fashion in France modelling his collections. Patou was known as one of “the big ten” in the world of fashion and with him ranked such outstanding designers as Worth, T.anvin, Chanel, Molyneux, Vionnet, Mainbacher, Auqustabernard, Sehiaperelli and Lelcug.