Maison Cosworth

Maison Cosworth was a Brunanter fashion house well-known in the late 19th and early 20th century. Founded by the French-born Jean-Jacques Cosworth, it was the first "haute-couture" label to come out of Brunant.

Early history
Jean-Jacques Cosworth (1852-1923) was a perfume maker's apprentice in Paris before leaving France in 1871 and moving to Brunant. He continued making perfumes but after designing a hat in the summer of 1880 was asked by a client to design a matching dress. Enthralled by the design, more pieces were commissioned and Cosworth devoted most of his time to dressmaking.

Oriental years
In the fall of 1902 he debuted his < > collection, inspired by Persian and Ottoman fashion, and for the next dozen years oriental influences would come to dominate the popular fashion in Brunant. By 1910 he shied away from the traditional corset look into a slightly more natural waist with a built-in corset, looser skirts and very ornate detailing.

During the Great War Cosworth continued designing new pieces, but much more infrequently. The halt and then restarting of the French fashion industry following the war saw a change into newer and simpler designs; Cosworth's collections in 1919 and 1920 were very much of the pre-war fashion and did not find him success. He retired from his company and his son Hector took over the reins.

Under Cassals
Under Hector, Maison Cosworth returned to producing perfumes to bolster lagging sales. The perfumes sold fairly well though could not offset losses from their overall sales losses. In 1924, faced with having to shut down the house due to mounting debts, he organized a sale to Cassals for 1200 tal. Hector stayed on for a few years to help develop and expand the more profitable perfumes, but left in 1927 and the house was slowly shut down.

The last perfumes were produced in 1931 and distraught by that fact the Baroness Claudia van Neyt purchased most of the bottles produced that year to keep in reserve.