IRFÉ is a French fashion house from the first half of the 20th century. The name comes from the first letters of the founders — Princess IRina Alexandrovna Romanova of Russia and Prince FElix Yusupov.Founded in Paris in 1924, it occupied the entire ground floor, and later the first floor, of a house located at 10 rue Duphot. Almost the entire staff consisted of a couple of friends of the Yusupov and other Russian immigrants.
The presentation of the first collection was held at the Hôtel Ritz on Place Vendôme and impressed the high society of Paris. Over the first weeks after the opening, Maison IRFĒ rapidly gained famed, mainly due to the public interest of Felix Yusupov and rumours concerning his person.
This first successful business experience encouraged Felix Yusupov to open a porcelain shop, together with Baron Edmond de Zyuilanom, in 1925 on rue Richepanse, nearby Maison IRFÉ. Later, the prince took part in decorating the Parisian restaurant Maisonette on rue du Mont-Thabor, in a «Russian style», and opened the restaurant Lido; the maker of the interiors was painter Shukhaiev.
In 1925, Maison IRFÉ opened a first branch in Le Touquet, where Irina Alexandrovna’s cousin – Prince Gavril Konstantinovich Romanov and his wife, Antonina Rafailovna Nesterovskaya, former ballerina of the Imperial Ballet – took care of the business.
Then, it subsequently opened two more branches in London on Berkeley Street, under the leadership of a certain Mrs Ensil and in Berlin, in a house on Parizerplatts Radziwill. In 1926, IRFÉ launched its own perfume line. It was limited and conceived in four flavors: Blonde for blondes, Brunette for brunettes, Titiane for red-haired women and Grey Silver for women of an elegant age.
In 1931, Maison IRFÉ and all its branches closed down for economic reasons. The perfume venture remained for a few years longer in the atelier.
