Jacqueline de Ribes

Jacqueline, comtesse de Ribes (born 14 July 1929) is a French aristocrat, designer, fashion icon, businesswoman, producer and philanthropist. She has been a member of the International Best Dressed List since 1962.

Early life

Jacqueline Bonnin de La Bonninière de Beaumont was born on 14 July 1929 in Paris to Jean de Beaumont, comte Bonnin de la Bonninière de Beaumont (1904–2002) and Paule de Rivaud de La Raffinière (1908–1999). In 1948, January the 30th, Jacqueline married Vicomte de Ribes, a successful banker who subsequently became comte de Ribes and Officer of the Legion of Honour, Croix de guerre 1939-1945. They had two children, Elizabeth and Jean.

Life in fashion and society

For twelve years de Ribes created ready-to-wear collections, using marketing techniques to attract famous and elegant international clients such as Joan Collins, Raquel Welch, Barbara Walters, Baroness von Thyssen, Cher, Danielle Steel, Olympia de Rothschild, and Marie-Hélène de Rothschild.

Her creations have been positively received with fashion journalists Hebe Dorsey of the International Herald Tribune and John Fairchild of Women's Wear Daily singing her praises. Following health problems in 1995, de Ribes was forced to dissolve her company.

On 14 July 2010, the French President, decorated her as a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur at the Elysée Palace.

From 19 November 2015 to 21 February 2016, the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum in New York City will feature "The Art of Style", an exhibition featuring items from de Ribes's wardrobe. The thematic show will feature about sixty ensembles of haute couture and ready-to-wear primarily from her personal archive, dating from 1959 to the present. Also included will be her creations for fancy-dress balls, as well as numerous photographs and ephemera, recounting the story of how her interest in fashion developed over decades, from childhood "dress-up" to the epitome of international style.

Theatre artistic director and producer of Cuevas Ballet

In 1958, she produced the first play performed at the new Recamier Theatre, When five years will be passed by Federico Garcia Lorca, with Laurent Terzieff and Pascale de Boysson and a Raimundo de Larrain scenery. Then she voluntarily takes very important responsibilities and essential in the company's Ballets du Marquis de Cuevas.

Producer, movies, television

Following this experience, she co-produced the initiative for the first French television channel, a film in three episodes from the book by Luigi Barzini "Italians", published by Gallimard in 1966. It was during this trip that Visconti asked her to play the duchesse de Guermantes in his next film In Search ... based on the novel by Marcel Proust, she agreed. The film was cancelled after Visconti fell sick. In the 1970s, she focused her efforts on volunteering for show production and co-produced Eurovision television shows to benefit UNICEF.

Active "mécène" of many museums and institutions

De Ribes chaired the Association of Friends of Foreign Orsay Museum during the Monet exhibition in Tokyo in 1996. She supports several museums and foundationsin France. She accepted, at the 2007 Biennale, the chairmanship of Venetian Heritage.

Humanitarian and charitable activities

Jacqueline de Ribes has supported humanitarian causes throughout the world. De Ribes won the prestigious Women of Achievement Award in 1980, alongside Bette Davis, Iris Love, Ann Getty, Dame Sheila Sherlock and Jessie M. Rattley, among others.

Ecology

De Ribes is a pioneer in the field of nature conservation and ecology, as early as 1974 in the Balearic Islands, she works for the respect of the natural beauty and for the survival of the species in the wild islands yet. Convinced of the ecological issue, she decided to orchestrate an international campaign to safeguard the Mediterranean island of Espalmaor, migratory bird refuge. She obtained the classification of the island as a nature reserve and its final backup.

Recognition

• Appeared the first time on the International Best Dressed List in 1956.
• She was named to the International Best Dressed List Hall of Fame in 1962.
• In 1983, she was voted the "Most Stylish Woman in the World" by Town and Country.
• As a designer, she received the Rodeo Drive Award in 1985.
• In 1999, French designer Jean-Paul Gaultier dedicated his collection to Jacqueline de Ribes.

Family

The Countess de Ribes, was born Jacqueline de Beaumont, she is the daughter of Count Jean de Beaumont (1904-2002) Commander of the Legion of Honor, vice president of the International Olympic Committee, president of the French Academy of Sports and chairman of Cercle de l'Union interalliée, and his wife, the Countess (née Paule Rivaud de La Raffinière; 1908-1999), a woman of letters.

See also

• 1960s in fashion
• Diana Vreeland
• Oscar de la Renta
• Diane von Furstenberg

References

Notes

Bibliography

External links

• Jacqueline de Ribes at the Internet Movie Database
• Profile, fashionencyclopedia.com; accessed 30 August 2015.
• Profile, vanityfair.com; accessed 30 August 2015.
• Pinterest Ribes's Fans [1]
• Profile, HuffingtonPost.com; accessed 30 August 2015.
• Profile, telegraph.co.uk; accessed 30 August 2015.
• Profile, theredlist.com; accessed 30 August 2015.