Madame Berthe was a New York costumier who worked between the 1930s to the 1970s.
She is credited as designing the costumes for the 1944 Broadway Variety show, Take a Bow and for
the 1932 musical revue, Hey Nonny Nonny! which played at the Shubert
Theatre.
Mme Berthe is also linked to the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo when in 1940 Leonide Massine was artistic director of the company having taken over from
Massine collaborated with
The New Yorker illustrator,
Rea Irvine using his illustrations as inspiration for characters in the ballet while Mme Berthe
executed the designs.
Judging by the three costumes I have collected, her designs are made with an attention to detail and made to endure; strong foundations, thick layers of fabric, heavy duty zips and hand sewn clusters of beads and crystals.
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| Mme Berthe dress, with Grace Cherry and Lady Lola. Hobart 2010 Photo by Ella B |
Suzy Benzinger a current costume designer for Broadway remembers Mme Berthe from the 1970's as one of the major costumiers in New York.
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| Mme Berthe's signature labels shows her at 110 West 47th st |
This black corset is from the 1950's. It is made in layers of thick
cotton, whale boning and black silk.
It is finished with glass beading, sequins and lace.
The edges are scalloped with modesty panels at the front and back illusion lace over the bust.
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| Photo courtesy of the seller |
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| Photo courtesy of the seller |
The seller was unsure if the original belt has been switched out for
the heavily sequined belt, I found a photo of a similar costume by Mme Berth which had a similar bodysuit and the same belt.
The seller had purchased the costume from MGM in California.
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| Three costumes auctioned off in 2008 under 'Broadway costumes' one is credited to Mme Berthe |
Mme Berthe knickers from the United States. Seller had no information on provenance.
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| Mme Berthe knickers- nylon mesh and rhinestone |
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| This Tag lists Mme Berthe at 539 Broadway- New York |
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| Zip at back |
My favourite item is another Etsy find. The seller was based in
Hollywood and didn't know much about the provenance. She listed the
dress under
vintage burlesque which is how I found it...
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| Mme Berthe fishtail gown |
The yellow gown is heavy, The hem is lined with weights to keep the tulle inserts that flare the fishtails down. The bead work is exquisite, sequins, seed pearls, pronged crystals, gold glass bugle beeds and clusters of wispy silken flowers and white leaves, hand cut and hand sewen on the beaded panels.
It is boned through the bodice and has a heavy duty metal zip at the rear. The fabric is chiffon on top of silk.
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| Photo by Bret Salinger The 2011 Australian Burlesque Festival |
The gown was gifted to me and after some use in shows, I no longer wear it on stage as it is very fragile... But I do use it in photoshoots... A recent shoot below...
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| Photo by Bret Salinger |
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| Photo by Bret Salinger |
