Barbas

Raymond Barbas (1900-1983) was a french entrepreneur and president of Jean Patou. He joined that Paris fashion house in 1920 after his marriage to Marie-Magdaleine, the founder’s sister. Susanne Lenglen, the six-time Wimbledon champion and dominant player in women’s tennis between 1919 and 1926, owed her entry into the world of fashion to Barbas. After the death of his brother-in-law, management of the business was in his hands. He remained in charge until his own death, when he was succeeded by his nephew, Jean de Mouy. In the 1950s, at the head of a trade group of manufacturers, Barbas obtained from the government a series of measures meant to invigorate French fashion and the textile industry.