Born 1922 as Maxine Birley in West Dean, West Sussex, English-Irish model and underground movie actress Maxime de la Falaise worked for Elsa Schiaparelli in the 1950s as a vendeuse mondaine which she explained as “a sort of muse who was supposed to encourage sales to the rich English”. She modeled for photographers such as Jack Robinson and Cecil Beaton. She “dressed with uninhibited chic” and according to The Independent, Cecil Beaton once called her “the only truly chic Englishwoman”.
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| Maxime de la Falaise in the 1940s and ’50s |
While living in New York, Maxime de La Falaise wrote a food column for Vogue magazine. In 1980, she published a collection of these columns, with her own illustrations, under the title Food in Vogue. In 1973 she published Seven Centuries of English Cooking: A Collection of Recipes. She also wrote the foreword to My Kingdom of Books (1999) by Richard Booth.
Maxime de La Falaise died of natural causes, aged 86, at her home in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, Provence, in 2009. These glamorous photos captured a young Maxime de la Falaise as a model from the late 1940s and early 1950s.
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| Maxime de la Falaise in checked wool dress with patent leather belt and detachable nutria-lined cape by Jacques Fath, photo by Richard Avedon in Paris, Harper's Bazaar, April 1948 |
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| Maxime de la Falaise in coarse white linen evening jacket exquisitely embroidered in silver and steel, worn with tiny embroidered hat of silver cloth, by Christian Dior, photo by Richard Avedon, Harper's Bazaar, April 1948 |
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| Maxime de la Falaise in coat by Schiaparelli, Napoleonesque coiffure by Guillaume, photo by Clifford Coffin, Paris, October 15, 1948 |
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| Maxime de la Falaise in evening dress of nacre satin with draped skirt and strapless bodice encrusted with pearls and crystals by Jacques Fath, photo by Richard Avedon, Paris, Harper's Bazaar, May 1948 |
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| Maxime de la Falaise in tailored linen jacket by Jacques Fath, photo by Richard Avedon in Paris, Harper's Bazaar, April 1948 |
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| Maxime de la Falaise, photo by Richard Avedon, Paris, 1948 |
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| Maxime de la Falaise in narrow black dinner dress with a vast white linen collar by Schiaparelli, photo by Richard Dormer, Harper's Bazaar UK, July 1949 |
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| Maxime de la Falaise in short swing-back white piqué evening coat by Mark Luker of Jay's, photo by Maurice Tabard, Harper's Bazaar UK, August 1949 |
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| Maxime de la Falaise in swing-back coat of black corded silk with stand-up collar and huge cuffs by Rima, white hat with feather pouf by Edelle, photo by Maurice Tabard, Harper's Bazaar UK, August 1949 |
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| Maxime de la Falaise in tiny check taffeta dress with ruffled skirt by Paquin, worn with long chandelier earrings and rhinestone buckled shoes, photo by Horst P. Horst, Vogue UK, September 1949 |
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| Maxime de la Falaise, photo by Clifford Coffin, 1949 |
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| Slim black grosgrain evening gown by Paquin worn here by Maxime de la Falaise, photo by Horst P. Horst, 1949 |
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| Countess Maxime De La Falaise in dress by Schiaparelli, photo by Gordon Parks, 1950 |
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| Maxime de la Falaise in a dress she designed for Paquin's boutique and accessorized in her own inimitable style, photo by Horst P. Horst, 1950 |
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| Maxime de la Falaise in Aleutian EMBA mink coat by Christian Dior, photo by Gene Fenn at Sacré Coeur, Paris, Vogue, October 15, 1950 |
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| Maxime De La Falaise in Christian Dior's ball gown named "Henri Sauguet" after composer and personal friend of Dior, photo by Willy Maywald, 1950 |
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| Maxime de la Falaise in gown by Charles James, photo by Cecil Beaton, Modess...because ad, Vogue, November 1, 1950 |
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| Maxime de la Falaise in green sweater with violet skirt and multi-colored striped sash by Manguin, photo by Philippe Pottier, 1950 |
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| Maxime de la Falaise in grey draped jersey dress by Balenciaga, photo by Philippe Pottier, 1950 |
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| Maxime de la Falaise in shantung evening sheath with flocks of organdy kerchiefs at the shoulder and waist by Schiaparelli, photo by Norman Parkinson, Vogue, March 15, 1950 |
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| Maxime de la Falaise in spectacular gown called "Mozart" of pale topaz net swept to a train, each flounce fluted and covered with paillettes and ball fringe, by Christian Dior, photo by Norman Parkinson, Vogue, April 1, 1950 |
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| Maxime de la Falaise in strapless, embroidered ivory linen dress with short bolero, perfect for summer, by Jean Dessès, photo by Skilford, 1950 |
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| Maxime de la Falaise wearing a Charles James gown in Modess ad, photo by Cecil Beaton, 1950 |
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| Maxime De La Falaise wearing fish-tailed striped gown by Paquin, photo by Cecil Beaton,Vogue, January 1950 |
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| Maxime de la Falaise, Bal Goya, photo by Georges Dambier, Biarritz, France, 1951 |
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| Maxime de la Falaise for Pond's cold cream, Vogue, September 1, 1953 |
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| Maxime de la Falaise, photo by Alexander Liberman, 1953 |