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Can anyone supply any information on the Rahvis sisters – they are listed among IncSoc membership in a newspaper article of 1969 and an article from 1941 mentions one of the sisters so they appear to have been in business for a fair while. Their names were Raemonde and Dora – from what I can gather – and they ran a successful couture house in Upper Grosvenor Street and also produced costumes for films. They are shown in a couple of Pathé films and I've also found passing mentions in various other sources. I think they may have been from South Africa originally. Libby norman (talk) 11:59, 13 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I believe they'll be discussed - along with a number of other British designers of their ilk - in an upcoming publication which is being edited by a former colleague. I did actually discuss them briefly with someone contributing to the book a couple of months ago, but can't really say what we talked about due to confidentiality reasons. So I would wait for the book to come out. Mabalu (talk) 01:34, 14 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]
I have definitely run into problems finding detailed information on the Rhavis sisters. Some have pointed to videos and some associated documents have questioned their presence in certain areas. What I did pick up is that "the girls showing these creations of those phenomena, the Rahvis sisters have to go through the gaming room to change their dresses," [1] well as a, "Rahvis sisters' prophecy" in regards to the pathé. It seems that perhaps they owned or organized a fashion show, often, or were designers. [2]. I also say them referred to as [3]. Ignoring the blatant sexism on both sides, the second reference video shows insight to the sisters more closely. That is all I have been able to find. If anyone can find something I have missed or would like to contribute, do not hestitate. Also, they are both of British decent, if that helps. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Chewbakadog (talk • contribs) 02:16, 14 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you Mabalu and Chewbakadog. I've seen a Guardian article this morning from 1960s describing them as bucking the trend and being pretty much the last London couture house – talk of them being a phenomenon/legendary, etc, so they were obviously managing the PR. It looks as if they were still producing couture for private clients, but US buyers wanted ready-to-wear. Interesting, as they are also mentioned in a Joan Collins book and a Christoper Isherwood book (or Raemonde – Rae – is). I look forward to seeing the book. Libby norman (talk) 12:44, 15 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]
You're welcome, Libby norman. Do you have a source on the Joan Collins book, or on the Christopher Isherwood book, that you're referring to here? There's definite success with the Rahvis sisters, if they were capable of selling to individual clients, rather than make anything ready-to-wear for a definitely larger clientele. There's an Answers.com thing on Joan Collins but the Rahvis sisters are only just mentioned. Christopher Isherwood, however, has an entire PDF of the book "Dying to be Born Again"[4] (note that it's also the only result on google in a search: Author Christopher Isherwood "rahvis") Let me know if that's the book you mentioned looking forward to seeing. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Chewbakadog (talk • contribs) 20:12, 25 September 2014 (UTC)[reply]
Have been reading this recently - as you'll have noticed I've added a lot of references and cites from this book. I think this is a pretty accurate source, as Ernestine Carter was there at the beginning and knew many of the people involved. Real insider knowledge, and with her curatorial training I feel quite confident that she is probably pretty accurate. What she says about Charles Creed being the first elected member, rather than a founder member, definitely makes a great deal of sense and explains why the confusion as to how there could be nine founder members rather than eight. Also great to have info on the last three members (including Rahvis as above!) and to know it was around as late as 1974 though I suspect it really didn't last very long afterwards. Mabalu (talk) 14:49, 3 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
However - that "Victor Stiebel of Jacqmar" bit does bother me - it's what she wrote, but Jacqmar was clearly Mosca's area at that point. Unless they were both at Jacqmar concurrently, Carter may have made an error there. Mabalu (talk) 16:01, 3 October 2014 (UTC)[reply]
