The painter Jean-Pierre Cassigneul grew up in the unconventional–and glamourous– world of Parisian haute couture. His father was Jean Dessès (1904–1970), founder and primary designer of a leading fashion house. Dessès himself was born Jean Demètre in Alexandria, Egypt, to Greek parents; there, he received a classical education and was sent to Paris to study law in the early 1920s. Dessès’s interest soon turned to fashion, however, and he began working for Maison Jane in 1925. By 1937, he launched his own fashion house amid the chic environs of Avenue Georges V, featuring his line of classically inspired clothing. [i]
Born on July 13, 1935, Cassigneul was just two years old when his father opened his haute couture salon. The young boy grew up among designers and models, as well as the luxurious trappings of elegant fabrics. Not surprisingly, he began drawing at an early age,