Our History

From generation to generation, the women of the same family have successively invented new ways of dressing, defining the rules and evolving them according to the times, always giving them the same special touch that has made the House's reputation. A must-visit meeting place in Paris for two centuries, women from all over the world, the most refined and famous, continue to meet in our salons.

1889 — THE INVENTION OF THE BRA

Herminie Cadolle, after taking part with Louise Michel in the revolutionary events of the Paris Commune, emigrated with her whole family to Argentina. There, she founded the first Cadolle house and quickly made a fortune before returning to France to found another establishment on rue de la Chaussée d'Antin. It was during the 1889 Universal Exhibition that Herminie Cadolle exhibited her new invention: she had just had a simply brilliant idea: for the comfort of women, she had cut the traditional feminine corset in half: she had just invented the first bra for which she filed a patent and which she called the corselet-gorge.

1911 — RUE CAMBON

At that time, Marie Cadolle decided to leave the premises on rue de la Chaussée d'Antin and the Parisian department store district to move to rue CAMBON; other designers, who would become famous, would participate in this movement and create a new Parisian pole of fashion and elegance at this address. Today, the Cadolle house still stands as an institution.

1921 — SUZANNE LENGLEN

Marguerite Cadolle was very good friends with a famous tennis player of the time: Suzanne Lenglen. Together, they signed several advertising campaigns for Cadolle perfumes. Always innovative, Maison Cadolle thus launched the first co-branding with a woman from the world of sport.

1925 — THE BOYISH FORM, FOR COCO CHANEL

That year, Marguerite created the first flattening bra: the famous boyish form. Then, for the Duchess of Windsor and also for many other famous women of that troubled era in Europe, she created refined lingerie collections: dizzying necklines, extremely fitted dresses. Through her abundant creations, she created the first link between the corsetry profession and Couture: the Cadolle touch was born.

1947 — THE WAIST CINCHER (GUÊPIÈRE), FOR MARCEL ROCHAS

Alice Cadolle developed a new waist cincher with Monsieur Rochas and named it after the couturier. Inspired by the slender waist of a wasp, a new silhouette for the female body was created with the guêpière.

1949 — THE NEIMAN MARCUS AWARD

Numerous distinctions crowned the abundant creations of Maison Cadolle during this post-war period. in 1949, two years after Monsieur Christian DIOR, Alice Cadolle received the most famous global distinction in the fashion industry of that era: the Neiman Marcus trophy, in the United States.

1989 — THE RETURN OF THE CORSET

At a professional trade show in Paris, Poupie Cadolle launched a new type of corset. The use of new modern materials combined with a new definition of the female silhouette transformed the old corset into a true garment of comfort rather than constraint. Women immediately fell in love with this new garment they had forgotten for 80 years.

The 2010s — THE CADOLLE TOUCH

Alongside the cult lines, which are always scrupulously followed and updated, new lines more focused on seduction are now being added. Expressing and affirming a woman in tune with the spirit of her time, the Geisha line marks a turning point in the often discreet and elite history of the House.