… struck out on his own and opened his own business. Worth had extremely good timing. Napoleon III ascended as emperor, and took as his wife the fashionable Eugénie, and the revitalization of France initiated by the emperor. The trendsetting initiated by his wife, led to an insistence for high fashion that mirrored the fashion demands of the late 18th century. Empress Eugénie became a patroness to Worth, setting the stage for his enormous success.
(Portrait: Empress Eugenie in her official Court Dress by Worth)