Caty Lullier

Although Caty Lullier enjoyed sewing as a hobby in her teens, she studied accounting. Drawn to the world of fashion, she trained at the École parisienne de mannequins modelling school and then worked for the fashion house of Jacques Heim. In 1955, she came to Canada to join her future husband, Marc Lullier, a fellow Frenchman who was a fashion photographer in Montreal. For a decade or so, she worked as a model for Radio-Canada, various manufacturers and department stores. When Le Drug—a complex housing a disco, restaurant, pharmacy, and post office that attracted international attention for its avant-garde design—opened in 1965, she decided to set up shop there.

Beginning in 1967, she designed collections for the manufacturer Dolman Dress for five years. Rather than the extravagance of high fashion or the new standards dictated by street style, Caty Lullier preferred the refined elegance of evening gowns, cocktail dresses and outfits carefully created to satisfy the specific requirements of particular society events. Despite the success of her ready-to-wear creations, she turned to couture. She ran a salon at 1522 Sherbrooke Street West until retiring in 1997.

Dress, Caty Lullier, 1967. Gift of Michelle Nolin-Raynauld, M2004.100.1 © McCord Museum