Our history 

From generation to generation, the daughters of one same family successively invent a new way of dressing, define the rules and make them evolve according to the times, always adding that special touch which honours the reputation of the House. Ours salons, an essential and international gathering place in Paris for two centuries, are still welcoming the most refined and famous women of the world.

1889

THE CREATION OF THE BRA

Herminie Cadolle, after taking part with Louise Michel in the revolutionary events of the Paris’ Commune, emigrates with all her family in Argentina. There she founds the first "Cadolle house" and quickly makes a fortune before going back to France, in order to found another establishment in rue de la Chaussée d'Antin. During the World Fair of 1889, when the Eiffel Tower was built, Herminie Cadolle exposed her new creation: for the comfort of women, she had cut in two the traditional female corset. She had just invented the first bra in the world, that she called the "corselet-gorge", and she filed a patent for it. The extraordinary life of this revolutionary woman around the world is collected in a book about the Saga Cadolle.

1911

THE  RUE CAMBON

At that time, Marie Cadolle decided to leave the premises of the street of the Chaussée d’Antin and the district of the Parisian department stores in order to settle in the rue Cambon. Many other fashion designers, who will become extremely famous, participated to this movement, to the extent of creating a new Parisian pole of fashion and elegance in this street. Nowadays, the Cadolle house is still an institution in the Cambon street.

1921

SUZANNE LENGLEN

Marguerite Cadolle is a very close friend of a famous tennis player of the time: Suzanne Lenglen. Together they sign several advertising campaigns for Cadolle’s fragrance line. The Maison Cadolle, always innovative, launches the first co-branding with a woman belonging to the world of sport.

1925

THE BOYISH FORM, FOR COCO CHANEL

That year, Marguerite creates the first flattening bra ever: the famous boyish form. Then, she creates various refined collections of lingerie, for the Duchess of Windsor and for many other famous women of that time, so tormented in Europe: vertiginous necklines, extremely molded dresses... Thanks to her important amount of creations, she will establish the first link between the corsetry profession and the Couture: the "Cadolle touch" was born.

1947

THE CORSET FOR MARCEL ROCHAS

Together with Monsieur Rochas, Alice Cadolle creates a new waspie, precisely giving it the name of the couturier. Inspired by the thin waist of wasps, a new silhouette of the female body is created with the "corset". Gone are the days of bras in ribbons, ticking and made of metal, manufactured by Herminie for the famous spy Mata Hari.

1949

THE NEIMAN MARCUS AWARD

Several awards will crown the Maison Cadolle and its numerous creations during the post-war period. In 1949, two years after Mr. Christian Dior, Alice Cadolle obtains the fashion world’s most famous award : the Neiman Marcus trophy, in the United States.

1989

THE RETURN OF THE CORSET

At a trade fair in Paris, Poupie Cadolle launches a new type of corset. The use of modern materials, combined with a new definition of the feminine silhouette, transforms old corsets, perceived as an element of constraint, into very comfortable pieces. Women immediately fall in love with this new garment that they had forgotten for 80 years. The corset quickly makes its return in the Parisian Haute Couture collections and settles in the closets of celebrities and fashionistas. The corset emancipates from its original function and reinvents itself in a glamorous piece and in the symbol of refinement it has always represented.

The 20's

THE CADOLLE TOUCH

Alongside the cult lines, which are still scrupulously followed and updated, more seductive lines are added today. The Geisha line, the expression and the affirmation of a woman in keeping with the spirit of her time, represents a turning point in the history of the House, often discreet and elitist. This line reveals a seductive woman and resolutely carrying out herself as such, with the imprint of the famous "Cadolle touch".