Born in 1879, Paul Poiret was a couturier based in Paris before the First World War, during the Belle Epoque. He was taken on by the fashion designer Jacques Doucet as a draughtsman. When he completed his apprenticeship with the House of Worth in 1904 he opened up his own fashion house, and by 1907 had produced a revolutionary style. Poiret was the first designer to break away from the soft shades of the late Edwardian style and use vibrant primary colours. "It was," he declared, in My Fifty First Years "in the name of Liberty that I proclaimed the fall of the corset and the adoption of the brassiere which, since then, has won the day. Yes, I freed the bust, but I shackled the legs." This , of course, is a reference to his creation of the 'hobble' skirt. He also was famous for designing luxurious oriental and Art Deco gowns. He was the first couturier to launch his own perfume (named Rosine after his eldest daughter) and he also launched the suspender belt, flesh-coloured stockings and culottes, and introduced the modern brassiere. He created ensembles of walking coats and dresses, the first sheath and sack dresses and short hoop “lampshade” tunics over long sheaths. Inspired by interests in art nouveau, East Asia, and the Ballets Russes, he designed jewel-colored evening gowns and such exotic costumes as coulottes, harem pants and skirts, fringed capes, and turbans. His flowing Greek costumes were extremely popular in the prewar era, but his popularity faded in the 1920s and he died in poverty.