Cartier celebrates its Panthere and Jeanne Toussaint; EveryHuman offers adaptive fashion solutions

The work of Cartier’s former creative director Jeanne Toussaint, known as La Panthere, will go on display in a pop-up paean.

Cartier creative director Jeanne Toussaint and a La Panthere brooch.

When the Cartier exhibition came to the National Gallery of Aust­ralia in Canberra almost two years ago, Buzz was but one of the 200,770 visitors engrossed in the dazzling jewellery and objects, and the rollcall of impressive women who were customers of the house, including Australian opera singer Dame Nellie Melba, Mexican film star Maria Felix and actress ­Elizabeth Taylor.

But Buzz’s interest was most piqued by someone on the inside, Cartier’s former creative director Jeanne Toussaint, known as La Panthere, who also made the wild feline a talisman of the house.

Next month, Cartier will launch a pop-up exhibition at Melbourne’s Federation Square focused on Toussaint and the importance of La Panthere in the house’s design history.

Into the Wild, Panthere de Cartier promises to be an immersive experience, heavy on digital storytelling, with a selection of Panthere­ pieces past and present included.

As Cartier Australia managing director Alban du Mesnil du Buisson tells Buzz: “La Panthere is particularly meaningful for us. It’s really at the heart of our DNA, which is why we are very proud of sharing this legacy with our Australian clients.”

Certainly everyone will be able to learn more about Toussaint, a forme­r lover of Louis Cartier, grandson of founder Louis-­Francois Cartier. Her personal style and taste saw her installed in the company­ by 1920, and promoted to become the first female creative director of the house in 1933.

Her independent spirit was in tune with the changing roles of women in society following World War I, and she continued to be ahead of the curve until the end of her time with the company in 1970.

Toussaint was known as La ­Panthere before she met Louis Cartier.

While the house’s first panther-inspire­d item was a 1914 watch in the panther pelt pattern, the first piece depicting the animal itself was commissioned by Cartier for Toussaint three years later, a “necessaire” or small metal clutch decorated with a ­panther walking between two cypress trees.

Cartier Panthere brooch, made for the Duchess of Windsor.

Wallis Simpson, the duchess of Windsor, had several Panthere pieces created for her, including a 1949 sapphire brooch with the big cat perched on top in diamonds.

One section of the exhibition will include a ­reproduction of ­Toussaint’s Paris office.

“She is very close to our hearts at Cartier,” du Mesnil du Buisson says.

“We know that the panther animal­ has a very complex character — full of freedom, power, also elegance and independence.

“Throughout this exhibition we will showcase all these aspects so that our guests understand that this creation is the most important ­emblem of Cartier to celebrate femininity in all its facets.”

Into the Wild runs from March 6 to 15.

EveryHuman adaptive fashion.

Many of us get frustrated deciding what to wear each morning. For the one in five Australians with a disability, just getting dressed in the morning can be a challenge.

New website EveryHuman ­ (everyhuman.com.au) is hoping to become a one-stop shop for those in need of adaptive fashion solutions, a category that previously has been served mostly by smaller or very nicheor clinical operators.

EveryHuman founder Matthew Skerrit came to the concept after he joined his family business in aged-care facilities.

“I came to understand quite quickly that there was a bigger market that needed adaptive clothing from a functionality point of view,” Skerrit tells Buzz.

Following six months of research­, the site launched on Decembe­r 3 last year, on the International Day of Disabled Persons.

While the current offering is relatively small and mostly in the basics, shoes and underwear categories­, Skerrit has high hopes for where it can go.

“In terms of the women’s side of things, we’d like to move into more fashion-forward items,’’ he says.

“There are a few jeans companies we’re having conversations with, and we really want to focus on the fashionable aspect of adaptive clothing, which hasn’t existed here in Australia.”

The current offering caters to wheelchair users, and those with limited mobility or dexterity ­issues. Coming soon will be pieces for those with sensory processing issues.

“We’re only going to see more and more brands moving into this space,’’ Skerrit says. “Tommy Hilfiger and Nike are two big names (doing it), and we will see more of those mainstream brands offer adaptive lines.

“Yes, it’s about dignity, but it goes even further to self-expression, identity and independence. There’s a really powerful message there.”