Solange d'Ayen

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Solange d'Ayen
Duchess of Ayen
Full name
Solange Marie Christine Louise de Labriffe[1][2]
Other names
  • Solange de Labriffe[1][2]
  • Solange de Noailles[3]
Born(1898-04-05)5 April 1898[2]
Amiens, France[2]
Died3 November 1976(1976-11-03) (aged 78)[2]
Paris, France[2]
BuriedChâteau de Maintenon
Noble family
Spouse(s)
​
​
(m. 1919; died 1945)​
Issue
  • Geneviève de Noailles
  • Adrien Maurice de Noailles
FatherCamille de Labriffe
MotherAnne-Marie de Vassart d'Hozier
Occupation

Solange Marie Christine Louise de Labriffe, Duchess of Ayen (5 April 1898 – 3 November 1976),[2] known professionally as Solange d'Ayen,[4] Solange de Noailles, and Solange de Labriffe, was a French noblewoman and journalist, known for being the fashion editor of French Vogue magazine from the 1920s until the 1940s. She also wrote for the American Vogue. She was born into the House of Labriffe [fr] and was named Duchess of Ayen by marrying Jean Maurice Paul Jules de Noailles, the 6th Duke of Ayen, in 1919, with whom she had two children.

Solange was a survivor of a Nazi concentration camp after being arrested by the Nazis in 1942. She died in Paris on 3 November 1976 at the age of 78.

Early life[edit]

Solange Marie Christine Louise de Labriffe was born in Amiens, in northern France, on 5 April 1898.[2] Born into the House of Labriffe, her father was Camille, Count of Labriffe, and her mother was Countess Anne-Marie Vassart d'Hozier.[5] She had an older sister, Marie de Labriffe (1893–1985).[6]

Career[edit]

In the late 1920s,[7][8] Solange started working as a fashion consultant[9][10] and later became the fashion editor[4] of French Vogue magazine under the name Solange de Noailles.[3][7] By October 1928, she was signing her articles as Solange d'Ayen.[11] She also wrote for the American Vogue.[11][4][12][13] Irish journalist Carmel Snow, who was working for Vogue at that time, said of Solange: "she was the person I most wanted at that time to fashion myself on".[10] Solange was well-connected in the Paris social circle known as "le tout Paris" and introduced Snow to several members of the Paris elite.[10]

In 1935, she helped Vogue editor-in-chief Edna Woolman Chase persuade French painter Christian Bérard – a close friend of hers – to work for the magazine as a fashion illustrator.[14]

She worked as a fashion editor of French Vogue until the 1940s.[4] In 1949, she was managing the fashion house of Robert Piguet.[15]

In 1951, she became an editor of Maison & Jardin magazine.[16]

Towards the end of her life, she was known as Solange de Labriffe.[2]

Personal life[edit]

Solange married Jean Maurice Paul Jules de Noailles, the 6th Duke of Ayen, on 16 June 1919 and was named Duchess of Ayen.[5] They lived at the Château de Maintenon[17][18] and had two children; a daughter, Geneviève Hélène Anne Marie Yolande de Noailles (1921–1998), and a son, Adrien Maurice Edmond Marie Camille de Noailles (1925–1944), a soldier who died in Rupt-sur-Moselle during World War II at the age of 19.[19][20]

She was a close friend of several artists such as French fashion designer Coco Chanel,[21] Swiss fashion designer Robert Piguet,[22] French painter Christian Bérard,[14] and American photographer Lee Miller.[23][24]

Her husband, Jean de Noailles, was a member of the French Resistance during World War II and was arrested by the Gestapo on 22 January 1942, as a result of an anonymous denunciation.[25][26] He died at the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp on 14 April 1945,[5] a few days before the end of the war.[26] Solange was also arrested by the Nazis in 1942 and sent to the Fresnes Prison, while her family and friends such as Lee Miller were unaware of what had happened to her.[24] Solange was said to be "a shadow of herself" when Miller found her after the war.[24][27] In 1952, the Paris military court sentenced Suzanne Provost, a Gestapo collaborator accused of having denounced Jean de Noailles, to twenty years of imprisonment.[25] In 1954, Solange formally accused SS officer Helmut Knochen of having kidnapped her husband.[28] Knochen was sentenced to death by a Parisian military tribunal in 1954, but was later pardoned by President de Gaulle and released in 1962.[29]

French fashion designer Hubert de Givenchy, who had met Solange while he was working as an apprentice of Robert Piguet, described her as a "great beauty", who had "classic taste", and said that she always wore black because she had lost her husband and son in the war.[22]

Death[edit]

Solange died in Paris at the age of 78 on 3 November 1976.[2] She was buried at the Château de Maintenon in France.[30]

In popular culture[edit]

In 1939, French composer Francis Poulenc dedicated his song "Fleurs" to Solange.[31][32]

In 2023, Solange was portrayed by French actress Marion Cotillard in the Lee Miller biopic Lee, directed by American filmmaker Ellen Kuras.[24][33]

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • Snow, Carmel; Aswell, Mary Louise (1 January 1962). The World of Carmel Snow. McGraw-Hill. pp. 55, 108, 148. OCLC 547124.
  • Lawford, Valentine (1984). Horst: His Work and His World. Knopf. pp. 54, 152, 193. ISBN 978-0394521718.
  • Penrose, Antony (1985). The Lives of Lee Miller. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 978-0-03-005833-2.
  • Pochna, Marie-France (1996). Christian Dior: The Man who Made the World Look New. Arcade Publishing. p. 107. ISBN 978-1559703406.
  • Rowlands, Penelope (12 November 2008). A Dash of Daring: Carmel Snow and Her Life In Fashion, Art, and Letters. Atria Books. ISBN 9780743480451.
  • Burke, Carolyn (6 October 2010). Lee Miller: A Life. Knopf. pp. 100, 231. ISBN 9780375401473.
  • Simon, Linda (October 2011). Coco Chanel. Reaktion Books. ISBN 9781861898593.
  • Hilditch, Lynn (2018). Lee Miller, Photography, Surrealism and the Second World War: From Vogue to Dachau. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN 9781527500174.
  • Ronald, Susan (3 September 2019). Condé Nast: The Man and His Empire. St. Martin's Publishing Group. ISBN 9781250180025.
  • Taylor, Lou; McLoughlin, Marie (9 January 2020). Paris Fashion and World War Two: Global Diffusion and Nazi Control. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 9781350000261.
  • Othen, Christopher (14 July 2020). The King of Nazi Paris: Henri Lafont and the Gangsters of the French Gestapo. Biteback Publishing. pp. 82–83. ISBN 978-1785906596.
  • Miralles, Nina-Sophia (18 March 2021). Glossy: The Inside Story of Vogue. Quercus. ISBN 9781529402773.
  • Picardie, Justine (7 September 2021). Miss Dior: A Story of Courage and Couture. Faber and Faber. p. 199. ISBN 9780374210359.

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b "Solange d'Ayen (1898–1976)". Bibliothèque nationale de France (in French). Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Fichier des personnes décédées - DE LABRIFFE Solange Marie Christine Louise | Amiens 05/04/1898 - Paris 03/11/1976". matchID - Moteur de recherche des décès. 1976. Retrieved 22 February 2024.
  3. ^ a b de Noailles, Solange (1 April 1928). "The Coast of Azure and Gold". Vogue. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d d'Ayen, Solange (15 October 1940). "Letter from France". Vogue. pp. 114–115. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023. This is a letter from the Duchesse d'Ayen, fashion editor of French Vogue, who is temporarily living in Unoccupied France.
  5. ^ a b c "Maison de Labriffe" (PDF). Racines & Histoire (in French). 18 November 2022. p. 11. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  6. ^ "Famille de Labriffe" (in French). Archived from the original on 21 December 2022. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  7. ^ a b Miralles, Nina-Sophia (18 March 2021). Glossy: The Inside Story of Vogue. Quercus. p. 80. ISBN 9781529402773. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  8. ^ Paccaud, Emmanuelle (19 February 2023). "La presse magazine comme espace médiatique transatlantique | Pratiques éditoriales et représentations des rédacteurs en chef de Vogue et Vanity Fair (1914–1942)". Belphégor. Littérature Populaire et Culture Médiatique (in French) (19–2). doi:10.4000/belphegor.4179. S2CID 246101666. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023. Solange d'Ayen, rédactrice de mode pour Vogue français depuis la fin des années 1920
  9. ^ Snow, Carmel; Aswell, Mary Louise (1 January 1962). The World of Carmel Snow. McGraw-Hill. p. 55. OCLC 547124.
  10. ^ a b c Rowlands, Penelope (12 November 2008). A Dash of Daring: Carmel Snow and Her Life In Fashion, Art, and Letters. Atria Books. p. 109. ISBN 9780743480451. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  11. ^ a b d'Ayen, Solange (27 October 1928). "Scotland, the Happy Shooting Ground". Vogue. pp. 44–45. Archived from the original on 26 February 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  12. ^ d'Ayen, Solange (7 June 1930). "Paris in Its New Clothes". Vogue. pp. 64–65. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  13. ^ d'Ayen, Solange (1 July 1932). "Just How They Do It". Vogue. pp. 28–29. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  14. ^ a b Rowlands, Penelope (12 November 2008). A Dash of Daring: Carmel Snow and Her Life In Fashion, Art, and Letters. Atria Books. p. 203. ISBN 9780743480451. Archived from the original on 21 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023. Chase snatched up Bérard, luring him away from Bazaar in 1935 with the help of his great friend Solange d'Ayen.
  15. ^ Deambrosis-Martins, Simone (3 April 1949). "La Elegancia". La Opinión (in Spanish). p. 12. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  16. ^ Bouhours, Jean-Michel; de Haas, Patrick (1997). Man Ray: directeur du mauvais movies (in French). Centre Georges Pompidou. pp. 109–113. ISBN 9782858509430.
  17. ^ "Maintenon Après les Cottereau Noailles". Racines & Histoire (in French). p. 9. Archived from the original on 23 August 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  18. ^ Ronald, Susan (3 September 2019). Condé Nast: The Man and His Empire. St. Martin's Publishing Group. p. 143. ISBN 9781250180025.
  19. ^ Cassan, Maurice (1989). Ayen en Bas-Limousin et les Noailles pendant la Révolution (in French). R. Dessagne. p. 252. ISBN 978-2-85521-085-8. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  20. ^ "Dossier individuel de personnel de NOAILLES DE / ADRIEN MAURICE EDMOND MARIE CAMILLE". Ministère des Armées | Service historique de la Défense (in French). Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  21. ^ Simon, Linda (October 2011). Coco Chanel. Reaktion Books. pp. 86–88. ISBN 9781861899651. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  22. ^ a b Colton, Sarah (September 2004). "Robert Piguet: As Remembered by An Eighteen Year Old Apprentice Designer, Hubert de Givenchy" (PDF). Beauty Fashion Magazine. p. 3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 April 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  23. ^ Burke, Carolyn (6 October 2010). Lee Miller: A Life. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. p. 231. ISBN 9780307766632. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  24. ^ a b c d Fleming, Mike Jr. (21 October 2021). "Kate Winslet Joined By Marion Cotillard, Jude Law, Andrea Riseborough & Josh O'Connor For Film On Model-Turned-WWII Photographer Lee Miller". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 21 October 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  25. ^ a b "Le tribunal militaire de Paris condamne à vingt ans de réclusion une collaboratrice de la Gestapo accusée d'avoir dénoncé le duc d'Ayen" [The Paris military court sentences a Gestapo collaborator accused of having denounced the Duke of Ayen to twenty years of imprisonment]. Le Monde (in French). 18 November 1952. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  26. ^ a b Martin, Georges (1993). Histoire et généalogie de la maison de Noailles (in French). Imprimerie Mathias.
  27. ^ Maxwel, Elsa (16 January 1945). "Innocents Abroad". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 17. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 21 October 2023. In what category would Mr. Crawford place the Duc d'Ayen, a prisoner in Germany, and his beautiful young wife, Solange, who emerged almost unrecognizable from a Nazi concentration camp?
  28. ^ Théolleyre, Jean-Marc (1 October 1954). "M. Paul Reyanud a relaté les circonstances de sa déportation et la duchesse d'Ayen a formellement accusé Knochen d'avoir séquestré son mari" [Mr. Paul Reyanud recounted the circumstances of his deportation and the Duchess of Ayen formally accused Knochen of having kidnapped her husband]. Le Monde (in French).
  29. ^ Wistrich, R.S. (2013). Who's Who in Nazi Germany. Taylor & Francis. pp. 152–153. ISBN 978-1-136-41381-0.
  30. ^ "Solange de Labriffe" (in French). Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 23 August 2023.
  31. ^ "[Fleurs. FP 101, no 6] Francis Poulenc (1899-1963)". Bibliothèque nationale de France (in French). September 1939. Archived from the original on 25 March 2019. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  32. ^ Seebohm, Caroline (26 May 1982). The Man who was Vogue: The Life and Times of Condé Nast. Viking Press. p. 349. ISBN 9780670453665. Solange d'Ayen, the aristocratic and beautiful fashion editor (to whom Poulenc once dedicated a song)
  33. ^ Cresswell, PJ (26 September 2022). "Marion Cotillard shoots first scenes of Lee biopic in Dubrovnik". Time Out. Archived from the original on 22 October 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
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