Baroque was a design house established by Val St Cyr and business partner Ernest Pacey Sands.
Born Arthur Andrews Hilder in 1890, Val St Cyr became a significant yet later forgotten London dress designer during the Jazz Age, known for original, innovative, and daring designs. Despite having no formal drawing lessons, he began designing dresses in his teens, studied cutting and draping in Paris, and adopted the name Val St Cyr before 1918.
St Cyr’s early career included work for society dressmaker Madame Elizabeth Handley-Seymour and creating fashion sketches and costume designs circa 1915–1918, including some copies of the work of Parisian couturier Paul Poiret.
Post-WWI, he gained recognition as a young designer with his studio in Mayfair, noted for colorful, imaginative clothing and theatrical costumes. St Cyr’s own wardrobe was noted for its becoming yet fanciful nature.
In 1919, he became house designer for a theatrical dress company founded by actress Gwladys Violet Gibbons and producer Edmund Lewis Waller, later managed by actress Marie Blanche, producing exclusive gowns and stage costumes for theatre and film. St Cyr designed costumes for Maurice Elvey’s 1920 film At the Villa Rose, creating attire that enhanced character portrayal and was praised for fitting the drama’s tone and style.I
n 1921, he co-founded the House of Baroque with Ernest Pacey Sands. Blending St Cyr’s artistic creativity with Sands’ business acumen, Baroque quickly expanded from modest beginnings to occupy a Bond Street building.
Baroque specialized in imaginative designs, resisting fashion standardization and cultivating individuality. Throughout the 1920s, St Cyr’s innovative work included evening gowns inspired by menswear, advocating diverse waistlines, and incorporating theatrical, colorful, and modern styles.
By the late 1920s and early 1930s, St Cyr was recognized as a leading English designer, collaborating on notable London stage productions and evolving fashion towards originality.
Baroque operated during WWII, relocating to Cavendish Square by 1944, and advertised glamorous bridal wear sold in top stores.
The House of Baroque continued design work into the early 1960s before retirement; Val St Cyr died in 1967, followed by Ernest Pacey Sands in 1971.
Written by denisebrain
