«Made in France». The textile identity of Marie Louise of Parma, the last queen of the Ancient Regime (1789-1808)

Abstract

The present investigation studies the main dresses of the queen, Marie Louise of Parma, valuing the evolution of the female costume. The main tailors and dressmakers of the so-vereign will be studied, who not only made dresses, but were also in charge of creating the textile image of the queen. Along with the national fashion creators, there are foreigners, chosen for the exclusivity of their merchandise or for being the most outstanding profes-sionals on an international scale. The Royal Wardrobe is the main stage, where the wife of Charles IV receives her orders of fabrics brought from different foreign countries, such as Paris and Buenos Aires. Through the inventories and invoices preserved in the Palacio General Archive in Madrid, we know that the work and creations of this series of artisans are no longer carried out in anonymity, but that their work begins to be valued as a creation that reveals a great inventiveness and knowledge of geometry, cutting and sewing.