Front of a woman's cape, on display as part of the "Jazz Age" exhibit at the Cleveland Museum of Art in Cleveland, Ohio, in the United States.

Jean Patou (1880-1936) was born in Normandy, France, into a family of tanners and furriers. He worked as an apprentice furrier for his uncle, gaining knowledge about how fur was tanned, worked, shaved, and modified to make fine clothing. in 1880. He moved to Paris in 1910, and in 1912 opened a small dressmaking shop ("Maison Parry"). Immediately popular, his work was interrupted by World War I when he was drafted into the French Army. Reopening his shop in 1919, he rejected the then-popular flapper look. Instead, he focused on long skirts, sportswear, and cardigans. He is considered the inventor of knitted swimwear, the tennis skirt, and the designer tie. In 1925, Patou began making perfume and expanded into suntan lotion in 1928. His fashion business collapsed during the Great Depression, but he survived by making perfume. After Patou's death, the House of Patou was run by his sister. The House of Patou was purchased by Proctor & Gamble in 2001, and sold to Designer Parfums Ltd in 2011.

This cape is made of silk, mink, pâte de verre, and glass bead. Pâte de verre is a glass-making technique that goes back to the ancient Egyptians. Finely crushed glass is mixed with a binder (such as gum arabic), then applied to the inner surface of a mold. It is kiln-fired, and the mold removed.

It was likely designed by Jean Patou in 1930. The style is Chinoiserie, which is to say, the use of Chinese motifs in a highly stylized, often Art Deco manner. After the opening of China to the west in the 1860s, Chinese (and other Asian cultural images) were considered exotic, mysterious, and chic.

1. CMAJazzAge