Brown lace mermaid dress
Guy Paulin · Circa Fall 1984 (dealer attribution)
Guy Paulin
- Fluid dresses
- Ready-to-wear tailoring
- Outerwear
Guy Paulin was a French ready-to-wear designer whose career included independent collections and work for several established labels. After early freelance experience, he developed clothes under his own name and later succeeded Karl Lagerfeld at Chloé in the 1980s.
Five looks to know
Collection selection
Brown lace mermaid dress
Fall 1984 (dealer attribution)
The fitted brown lace dress has a high neckline, a keyhole back and a flared mermaid hem. Raleigh Vintage attributes it to Paulin’s first fall collection for Chloé.
Raleigh Vintage
Collection selection
Purple pleated jersey dress
1980s · Guy Paulin
Stitched pleats shape the close-fitting jersey and open below the knee.
Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris / UFAC collection; photographer not identified
Collection selection
White cross-stitched pleated dress
Spring/Summer 1987 ready-to-wear
Red cross-stitch embroidery secures the pleats and outlines the neckline and cuffs.
Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris / UFAC collection; photographer not identified
Collection selection
Linen ensemble with raffia embroidery
Spring/Summer 1989 ready-to-wear
Yellow raffia embroidery unites the linen vest, trousers and bustier.
Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris / UFAC collection; photographer not identified
Collection selection
Asymmetric layered chiffon dress
Spring/Summer 1989 ready-to-wear
Khaki chiffon overlays a patterned layer cut into strips at the skirt.
Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris / UFAC collection; photographer not identifiedCollections & archive pieces
1 collections represented · 1 pieceFall 1984 (dealer attribution)
1 piece
About Guy Paulin
Contemporary accounts describe a designer attentive to fabric, colour and a clean silhouette, with fluid dresses alongside neatly proportioned tailoring. He also contributed to Max Mara's outerwear. His career was cut short by his death in 1990, leaving work that bridges relaxed seventies dressing and more structured eighties fashion.