French jewelry designer Robert Goossens
French jewelry designer Robert Goossens (30 January 1927 – 7 January 2016)
Born 30 January 1927 in Paris, Robert Goossens became a 20th century jewelry fashion icon, best known as Monsieur Bijou. He received this nickname thanks to his sparkling jewelry made of rock crystal, artificial and semi-precious stones, which he successfully combined in design. In post-war Paris, the future designer successfully studied the methods of casting, engraving, chasing, processing semi-precious and artificial stones, working with gold and silver. While honing his skills in jewelry design, he often visited museums, inspired by the works of the Renaissance, the art of Byzantium and Malta. In addition, Goossens traveled a lot, bringing various natural stones from his trips, especially preferring rock crystal.
Gabrielle Chanel noticed the talented young designer in 1953. Thus began a fruitful collaboration with the Chanel fashion house, for which he created jewelry throughout his life. Goossens himself wrote that he spent a lot of time talking with Mademoiselle Chanel. She supported his desire for experimentation, and it was she who inspired Robert to work with interior design. So, Chanel was the first for whom Robert created interior items: mirrors, chandeliers and tables – including the famous table made of sheaves of wheat (he later repeated this design for Yves Saint Laurent in gilded bronze), as well as a crystal ball on a pedestal with three lions, which can still be seen in Chanel’s apartment on rue Cambon.
French jewelry designer Robert Goossens
Continuing his work with Maison Chanel after Coco’s death in 1971, he collaborated with her successor Karl Lagerfeld in the 1980s and 1990s. Goossens created original pieces for Coco in gold and natural stones, and his designs served as a model for Chanel’s jewelry designs.
Also, in the 1970s, Goossens began working with YSL, for whom, on the advice of Saint Laurent’s muse Lulu de la Falaise, he created an African collection. Over time, Goossens began to produce absolutely all accessories for the YSL house – from pocket mirrors to perfume bottles. Their collaboration continued until 2002.
Goossens collaborated with other fashion houses of that time – Yves Saint Laurent, Elsa Schiaparelli, Christian Dior, Cristobal Balenciaga and others. In addition, Guerlain, Rochas, Jean-Louis Scherrer, Thierry Mugler, Christian Lacroix and Sonia Rykiel asked him to create jewelry for their brands and design perfume bottles.
In 2005, when the 78-year-old Goossens was already retired, Maison Chanel bought “Goossens Paris” workshop and made it part of the Métiers d’Art division. The legendary Monsieur Bijou died at the age of 89, but his son Patrick and daughter Martina continued the business.
French jewelry designer Robert Goossens
