15 Facts About Edward Molyneux

Edward Henry Molyneux was a leading British fashion designer whose salon in Paris was in operation from 1919 until 1950.

Edward Molyneux was characterised as a modernist designer who played with the refinements of couture style, a modernist aesthetic, and the desire to be socially and culturally advanced.

Edward Molyneux was born on 5 September 1891 in Hampstead, London, to Justin Molyneux and Lizzy Kenny.

Edward Molyneux's uncle was Major Edward Mary Joseph Molyneux, who became known for his paintings of the Kashmir region.

Edward Molyneux found employment as a sketch artist for the London edition of the American magazine The Smart Set, where his drawings of fashionable women attracted the attention of the celebrated couturier Lucile.

Edward Molyneux hired him as a sketcher in her London salon in 1910 and by the end of the following year had promoted him to assistant designer at her Paris branch.

Edward Molyneux attained the rank of captain but lost his sight in one eye.

Edward Molyneux returned to work for Lucile after being invalided out of the war but a disagreement with her resulted in the termination of his contract in 1919.

Edward Molyneux opened his own fashion house in Paris at 14 rue Royale in November 1919, expanding to Monte Carlo in 1925, Cannes in 1927, and London in 1932.

Edward Molyneux was, as historian Caroline Milbank wrote, "the designer to whom a fashionable woman would turn if she wanted to be absolutely right without being utterly predictable in the Twenties and Thirties".

Edward Molyneux was a favourite with trendsetting actresses including Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Gertrude Lawrence, Margaret Leighton, and Vivien Leigh.

Edward Molyneux resumed designing in 1964, opening Studio Molyneux, a high quality ready-to-wear line that received mixed reviews.

Edward Molyneux painted throughout his life, and exhibitions of his paintings were held at the Galerie Weill in Paris and at the Hammer Galleries in New York.

Edward Molyneux amassed an extensive Impressionist art collection, including paintings by Picasso, Monet, Manet and 17 by Renoir.

In 1923 Edward Molyneux married Muriel Dunsmuir, one of eight daughters of the Hon.