Fragrance house

De Rauch

Madeleine de Rauch opened her first fashion house, Maison de l’Amitié, in Paris in 1928, and in 1932 founded the self-named couture house with her sisters. Its early creative identity combined sportswear and elegance, later extending into more classical couture while retaining an emphasis on fluid, feminine clothing and sporting looks. During the German Occupation, the house continued on a smaller scale and moved its workshops to the Basque country; its 1941 “military fashion” line and 1942 “Metro” collection reflected the conditions of the period. In the mid-1950s, Madeleine de Rauch expanded into ready-to-wear and helped establish the Prêt-à-porter Création group in 1957. In 1961, she found Yves Saint Laurent an atelier for preparing his first collection. The couture house closed permanently in 1974, after which the separate Parfums Madeleine de Rauch company passed through different owners. Its fragrance line began with Pitch in 1947, identified as Madeleine de Rauch’s signature fragrance, followed by Monsieur de Rauch in 1950.