Georges Barbier was one of the great French illustrators of the early 20th century. He was born in Nantes, France in 1882. He studied at the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris from 1908 to 1910. His companions included his cousin Pierre Brissaud, Bernard Boutet de Monvel, Jean Besnard, Paul Iribe, Georges Lepape and Charles Martin, all of whom were to become world renowned fashion illustrators. In that year several important new Paris fashion magazines began to be published, Gazette du Bon Ton, Le Journal des Dames et des Modes, Feuillets d'Art, Femina and Vogue. He became the chief illustrator for many of these magazines. The fashion plates Barbier drew for Bon Ton were almost exclusively for the house of Worth. They were prepared 6 to 12 months ahead of the collections and make one of the most complete couture series of the period.