Pascale Gorguet Ballesteros

Senior Curator
Palais Galliera, Fashion Museum of the city of Paris

Pascale Gorguet Ballesteros is senior curator at Palais Galliera, fashion museum of the city of Paris. She is uncharged with XVIIIth century Costumes department and Dolls department.

Exhibitions and catalogues

2009    Fastes de cour et cérémonies royales. Le costume de cour en Europe de 1650 à 1800. Réunion des Musées nationaux, 2009, ( Pierre Arizzoli-Clémentel, commissaire général de l’exposition)

2005    En vogue ! Mode uit Frankrij en Nederland in de 18de, Waanders Uitgevers, Zwolle, Gementemuseum Den Haag, 2005, in partnership with The Palais Galliera, musée de la mode de la Ville de Paris , Den Haag ( as a guest curator)

2005    Modes en miroir. La France et la Hollande au temps des Lumières. Paris Musées, 2005, in partnership withThe Gemeentemuseum, Den Haag (Guest curator, Madelief Hohé, curator of the Fashion department)

2000    Le coton et la mode. Mille ans d’aventures, Paris Musées, 2000

1994    Histoires du jeans de 1750 à 1994, Paris Musées, 1994

Recently « Entre réalité et fiction, les choix vestimentaires de Mme Vigée Le Brun » in cat. Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun, Editions de la réunion des musées nationaux, Paris, 2015

Abstract

Jean and denim, between myth and reality

On one hand, the legend says that the blue denim of Levi’s jeans came from the south east French city, Nîmes. On the other hand, Lynn Downey, former archivist of Levi Strauss, stated that Levi’s denim was in the late 1870’s bought from the Amoskeag Mill in Manchester, New Hampshire. How can this contradiction be explained?

Samples of XVIIIth century English jean and denim will bring an answer. Denim has English roots and has developed successfully in America since the end of the XVIIIth century. But its name is indeed related to the French city.

The story is also complicated since it involves two textiles, jean and denim and one pair of trousers formerly called overalls before becoming the mythical jeans.