Evening dress

Design House Bill Blass Ltd. American
Designer Lars Nilsson American, born Sweden

Not on view

Lars Nilsson has created an overall Hellenic effect in his design's conjunction of nudity, simplicity, drapery, and, most importantly, a girdled waist, here marked by dark bugle beaded bands. The classical midriff is interpreted in a way that introduces an element of contemporaneity to the venerable form. In Nilsson's design, the beaded bands do not meet at center front, terminating instead in skewed, sharply angled ends. This unpredictable detail adds a provocative deconstructivist quality to the gown of otherwise old-school suavity.

Evening dress, Bill Blass Ltd. (American, founded 1970), silk,glass, American

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