Between 1874 and 1875 Worth’s sons, Jean-Philippe and Gaston-Lucien, officially joined the company which they went on to develop and expand. Jean was responsible for design and Gaston for business matters.

Perhaps more than any other design it is the crinoline that is inextricably associated with Worth. However, it was not a design that the couturier initially favoured. The Empress Eugenie, who was Worth’s most famous, prestigious and loyal client, adored it. And, what she wore other women emulated.

Worth attracted an illustrious international clientele, drawn from the royal and imperial households of France, Spain, Portugal, Russia, Austria, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Japan and Russia.

In 1847, after struggling to find work and learn the language, Worth gained a position as a selling clerk at Maison Gagelin-Opigez et Cie, purveyor of luxury silks, shawls and mantles (capes). 

Charles Frederick Worth was born in Lincolnshire, England. When he was eleven years old his family fell on hard times, and he was apprenticed to a printer. He disliked the work and found alternative employ with a local haberdasher, selling fabrics, trimmings, and a few ready-made fashion items such as shawls.

The luxury fashion label WORTH takes its name from the company founder, Englishman Charles Frederick Worth (1825-1895), who established his Parisian haute couture house in 1857. More than any other designer, Worth was instrumental in establishing the foundations of today’s global fashion industries.