The Longchamp racecourse is situated in the Bois de Boulogne on the banks of the Seine River, in Paris, France. The first Longchamp race meeting was held in 1857.

With the first real fashion shows organized in the 1910s, the new century hailed Paris as the fashion capital of the world. And couturiers routinely sent models wearing their latest designs to the racecourse. 

As women were enjoying more social freedom, corsets — metaphorically and literally restricting — were changing in function from shaping the body to supporting it. And following the 1910 performance of "Scheherazade" by the Ballets Russes in Paris, a fashion mania for oriental styles was born.

Designs became asymmetrical. Preferred fabrics were satin, taffeta, chiffon and lightweight silks and cottons for the summer. Hemlines gradually rose and the female silhouette became straighter and flatter.

The Art Nouveau movement influenced designers such as Paul Poiret, Jeanne Paquin, Jacques Doucet and Mariano Fortuny, who created loose and flowing styles.

The Longchamp racecourse was closed for the duration of WWI but would reopen in 1919. 

Partly in response to new workplace roles for women after the war, women's fashion became more practical. They chose darker colors and simpler cuts.

Waistlines dropped to hip level and women began to bob their hair, marking the beginning of the boyish "flapper" style of the 1920s.