Countess Jacqueline de Ribes, Parisian Style Icon, Dies at 96

PARIS – Countess Jacqueline de Ribes, the socialite once dubbed “The Last Queen of Paris” by Valentino Garavani, has died at the age of 96.

She passed away in Switzerland on Tuesday, according to event organizer Françoise Dumas, who had known her since the late 1960s and worked with her on numerous social events, most recently the annual fundraising gala for the Société des Amis du Musée d’Orsay.

“The last grande dame of Paris is gone,” Dumas told WWD. “She carried the art of living and savoir-vivre to new heights. With her, a bit of that Proustian Paris is disappearing too.”

Considered by many to be the epitome of Parisian elegance, de Ribes was among the Swans written about by Truman Capote and was photographed by Richard Avedon.

The countess was the subject of an exhibition, “Jacqueline de Ribes: The Art of Style,” at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Costume Institute in 2015. Honorary president of the friends of the Musée d’Orsay, she was a fashion designer, theater and film producer, and supported causes including UNICEF and the League Against Cancer.

De Ribes was closely covered by WWD, which was present at the launch of her fashion collection in 1983.

“After years of whipping up dresses for herself and her friends,” WWD wrote on Feb. 16, 1983, “[she] has decided to take the plunge…with a couture collection of after-five clothes for the American market.”

The line made its debut six days later at New York’s Regency Hotel — although close friend Yves Saint Laurent was given an earlier, private preview. “I wanted to show the secret to him,” de Ribes explained. “We share the same intellectual rigor about esthetics.”

As for why she opted to debut the collection in America, the Frenchwoman noted, “Every designer offers a personality and a style. Mine is simplicity and sophistication and I think Americans will appreciate that. They’ve always been very nice to me.”

Fearless about fashion and color, she amassed a couture collection that included pieces from Saint Laurent, Pierre Balmain, Bill Blass, Marc Bohan for Dior, Madame Grès, Valentino and Jean Paul Gaultier.

De Ribes donated the contents of her wardrobe to Palais Galliera, the fashion museum backed by Paris City Hall, said Dumas. “She was so proud to see her name on the facade of the Met. I hope we will be able to pay tribute to her in Paris also,” she said.

De Ribes is survived by a daughter, Elisabeth, and a son, Jean, as well as her granddaughter Alix. Details of funeral services were not immediately available.