The Russian fashion house Ardanse was established in Paris in 1924 and was in business until 1946. The founder of the business and the creator of the designs was Baroness Cassandra Nikolayevna Accourti von Konigsfels. She was born in St. Petersburg with the maiden name Cassandra Coralie. Never one to shun work, Baroness Accourti was a nurse in St. Petersburg during World War I, and once in Paris followed the example of other aristocratic women and went into fashion. Her sister, Baroness Ekaterina Nikolayevna von Driesen, also worked at Ardanse. Thea Bobrikova, the main model at Lanvin, and then a model at Ardanse, recalled that at first the Baroness Accourti was not made welcome by her fellow countrywomen. "She was looked down upon by the aristocrats of the first wave of emigration because of her very minor title." (Cassandra Nikolayevna's family came from Austro-Hungary and was added to the book of Russian barons by decree of Emperor Alexander III only in 1891.) Despite the rocky start, the house of Ardanse turned out to be more solid than the rest. The unusual taste of its owner and the lack of grandiose ambitions helped the house survive in a period when many of its competitors were closing down. Cassandra Nikolayevna opened her business on the Right Bank, in a prestigious neighborhood of Paris. A luxurious mansion, at no. 37 rue Bienfaisance, built by the architect Troncoix in 1877, the house was decorated exquisitely in a single color scheme. "Here everything is violet," wrote a charmed visitor to the house in 1925, "and not that boring violet shade, but warm and modest, bringing to mind the color and fragrance of violets de Parme. The armchairs, carpets, showrooms, fitting rooms, even the writing paper, boxes and wrapping paper are all the same violet color, and this color unity creates an indescribable charm. The saleswomen and pretty models who inhabit these magical sets are dressed in violet without exception, harmonizing with the interior. I don't suppose you could find a more soothing tone to show off the wealth of color demonstrated in the designs." The pale violet was not the only "corporate color" of Ardanse. In 1928 it was replaced by aquamarine, which was then seen in every detail of the decor. Baroness Accourti personally met every invited client. Admirers of Ardanse in Paris were not only aristocrats of the salons, but the famous stars of the Paris stage. Ardanse, almost the only Russian fashion house to survive the economic crisis of 1929, continued its activities throughout the 1930s, lasted through the difficult war years, and closed only in 1946.