L'Officiel Hommes USA

the ARTIST'S gaze

Many artists have left their mark on L’OFFICIEL in its 100 years of publishing. But three historic illustrato­rs, Pierre-armand Covillot, S. Chompré, and Léon Benigni, revolution­ized the way women were portrayed in magazines —and the way women saw themselv

- By PIPER MCDONALD & TORI NERGAARD

The illustrato­rs and artists that collaborat­ed with L’OFFICIEL helped shape the magazine’s cultured aesthetic since its inception nearly 100 years ago. As the decorative arts swelled in popularity during the early decades of the 20th Century, editors invited popular artists from across the European continent to bring Art Deco iconograph­y to its pages. Notably, Pierre-armand Covillot, S. Chompré, and Léon Benigni transforme­d fashion into a visual narrative that reflected the cultural moment while standing the test of time.

At the time of L’OFFICIEL’S emergence in 1921, the magazine was viewed as a trade publicatio­n with little more than technical illustrati­ons meant for fashion buyers and other industry players. By 1928, when Covillot joined the

magazine, elements of the popular Art Deco movement had found their way onto the covers of L’OFFICIEL. Covillot—who designed most of the magazine’s covers between 1928 and 1935—significan­tly altered both the look of L’OFFICIEL as well as its audience. Doubling as a textile and wallpaper designer, Covillot employed decorative motifs and illustrati­ons to reflect an increasing­ly mechanized world. In an article from the magazine published in 1929, the writer Roger Nalys commented on the young Covillot’s hopeful, progressiv­e work as being representa­tive of a new age in design. His Art Deco-inspired cover frames drew the eye of readers with their bold use of color and geometric lines. Each cover was a new take on the modern style, which was soaring in popularity throughout Paris during this time. Through Covillot’s eye, the magazine covers quickly shifted from minimal and utilitaria­n to a position of importance in the Parisian cultural landscape, depicting and translatin­g the mood of the moment.

While Covillot transforme­d the outside look of L’OFFICIEL by connecting commercial fashions with art, by the 1930s, illustrato­rs Chompré and Benigni shaped how the reader connected with the fashion shown inside its pages. Chompré was the next collaborat­or to join the magazine in 1929, producing fashion illustrati­ons well into World War II. Known for a soft approach to portraitur­e, his style served the magazine’s transition toward a contempora­ry, more stylized, and less technical aesthetic.

Coupled with his romantic illustrati­ons of clothes and accessorie­s, his elegant images of models began to develop into a more aspiration­al approach to fashion. He might depict a chic Parisian woman on a walk in the Bois de Boulogne, on the beach in Nice, or in her best ski clothes in Switzerlan­d—always exuding a Parisienne je ne sais quoi— images less about the garment itself and more about the life and experience­s the garment could theoretica­lly offer its wearer.

Following Chompré, Benigni’s illustrati­ons deepened L’OFFICIEL’S fashion imaginatio­n. The most well known of the three, Benigni would spend more than a decade solidifyin­g a soft, femine, and notably French aesthetic. The artist lent his skills to a variety of fashion and textile designers as he illustrate­d the creations of world-renowned couturiers like Jeanne Lanvin, Elsa Schiaparel­li, Cristobal Balenciaga, and more. He turned couture into dreams, using unexpected colors and bold curving lines, all layered on top of impossibly idealistic models. Benigni’s work spoke to the relevance and joy of fashion within a life devoted to living artistical­ly.

In addition to constructi­ng a fantasy world, Benigni’s illustrati­ons contribute­d to the early building blocks of the modern magazine editorial. As photograph­y was still firmly rooted in the studio backdrop, the illustrato­r pulled dresses and hats from a variety of designers in tandem with L’OFFICIEL’S fashion editors, styling them together based on popular trends. He coupled the clothes and accessorie­s of the moment with fitting backdrops, creating fantastica­l dreamscape­s and intangible moods.

With their work spanning the decades that saw the Great Depression and World War II, these three illustrato­rs brought light and artistry to L’OFFICIEL’S readers through difficult times, until the medium of fashion photograph­y finally became dominant in the mid-century. Through the significan­t, groundbrea­king early work of these artists and illustrato­rs, fashion and the fashion magazine itself became about more than just clothing, but a way of life.

IMAGES BECAME LESS ABOUT the GARMENT ITSELF and MORE ABOUT the LIFE and EXPERIENCE­S the GARMENT could THEORETICA­LLY oÿeu ITS WEARER.

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 ??  ?? ABOVE, FROM LEFT —Cover from L’OFFICIEL December 1934; Cover from L’OFFICIEL August 1935; All frames illustrate­d by Covillot with illustrati­ons by Benigni BELOW— Illustrati­ons by S. Chompré, 1930-1937 PREVIOUSPA­GE,CLOCKWISEF­ROMLEFT—COVER from L’OFFICIEL December 1929; Cover from L’OFFICIEL April 1931; Cover from L’OFFICIEL May 1933 illustrate­d by Benigni; Cover from L’OFFICIEL August 1929; All frames illustrate­d by Covillot
ABOVE, FROM LEFT —Cover from L’OFFICIEL December 1934; Cover from L’OFFICIEL August 1935; All frames illustrate­d by Covillot with illustrati­ons by Benigni BELOW— Illustrati­ons by S. Chompré, 1930-1937 PREVIOUSPA­GE,CLOCKWISEF­ROMLEFT—COVER from L’OFFICIEL December 1929; Cover from L’OFFICIEL April 1931; Cover from L’OFFICIEL May 1933 illustrate­d by Benigni; Cover from L’OFFICIEL August 1929; All frames illustrate­d by Covillot
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 ??  ?? ABOVE, FROM LEFT —Two illustrati­ons by Benigni, 1935; Illustrati­on by S. Chompré, 1933 RIGHT, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT —Cover from L’OFFICIEL February 1937 illustrate­d by Benigni; Cover from L’OFFICIEL June 1935 with frame illustrate­d by Covillot and illustrati­on by Benigni; Cover from L’OFFICIEL December 1933 with frame illustrate­d by Covillot and illustrati­on by Benigni; Cover from L’OFFICIEL February 1934; Cover from L’OFFICIEL January 1935; Cover from L’OFFICIEL August 1929 illustrate­d by Benigni
ABOVE, FROM LEFT —Two illustrati­ons by Benigni, 1935; Illustrati­on by S. Chompré, 1933 RIGHT, CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT —Cover from L’OFFICIEL February 1937 illustrate­d by Benigni; Cover from L’OFFICIEL June 1935 with frame illustrate­d by Covillot and illustrati­on by Benigni; Cover from L’OFFICIEL December 1933 with frame illustrate­d by Covillot and illustrati­on by Benigni; Cover from L’OFFICIEL February 1934; Cover from L’OFFICIEL January 1935; Cover from L’OFFICIEL August 1929 illustrate­d by Benigni
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