Jean Dessès was born Jean Dimitre Verginie, in 1904, in Alexandria of Greek parents. He was a world leading fashion designer in the 1940's, 1950's and 1960's.

In the 90's, with the surge of interest in vintage dresses, the gowns of Jean Dessès have been in great demand. Naomi Campbell wore a vintage Jean Dessès couture gown to a party at Christies in May 1999. Later, in 2001, Renée Zellweger wore a lemon yellow strapless 1950s Dessès gown to the Academy Awards. Similarly, Jennifer Lopez wore a vintage moss green Dessès gown, made with 50 yards of chiffon, to the 2006 Academy Awards. guest wears for winter wedding

His fashion was very popular with European royalty and movie stars. Among his clientele were the Queen and royal princesses of Greece, the Duchess of Windsor and the first Mrs. Aristotle Onassis. In 1962, Jean Dessès designed the wedding gown worn by Princess Sophia of Greece (later Queen Sofia of Spain) for her marriage to the future King Juan Carlos of Spain.

In 1937, Jean Dessès opened his own couture salon in Paris. In 1958, Dessès moved to 12 Rond Point des Champs Elysees in Paris. In 1963 he closed his business and retired to Greece, where he ran a boutique which he had opened there earlier, in 1955. He died in 1970 at the age of 66.

The dresses below are all designs by Jean Dessès from the autumn of 1950 and published in the Alexandrian life-style magazine Loisirs.