Paris-New York 1925: Jean Patou’s ‘Advertising’

This 10,000-word chapter traces the genealogy of a single French haute couture dress by Jean Patou from its design in 1925 to its current home in the archives of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, linking object biography to wider narratives of national identity. The research asks how a close reading of a single object can yield insights into more extensive questions of culture, commerce and ideology.