Esterel

Jacques. Business name of Charles Henri Martin (1917-1974). He made his début in fashion after being the president of a foundry in St. Etienne and the director of an import-export company. In 1950, in Cannes, he met Zizi and Louis Féraud and joined their maison. Their business relationship would last eight years, until Esterel opened his own business, setting up in a boutique on Rue Charron in Paris. He designed Brigitte Bardot‘s wedding dress, which guaranteed him the front page in the newspapers and citizenship in the official world of fashion. In 1963, he started a partnership with the billionaire Jean Baptiste Doumeng, and his position became more solid. The French Olympic Committee gave him the job of designing the women’s uniforms for the games in 1964 and ’68 in Tokyo and Mexico City. In the early 1970s, he was among the first to offer a unisex collection. After his death, the maison was directed by Benoit Bartherotte, Marion Lésage, and Janò. Today, Esterel is a company that sells by mail order.