Dorian Leigh (fourth from left) and unidentified models in Charles James
9 ae4afa70-bbe2-4640-bbd4-0d63c0eb160c
80002036
Wedding Dress

Wedding Dress

Charles James (American, born Great Britain, 1906–1978)

Date:
1948–49
Culture:
American
Medium:
silk
Dimensions:
[no dimensions available]
Credit Line:
Gift of Jane Love Lee, 1993
Accession Number:
1993.427

This artwork is not on display

80062847
Creation

Creation

House of Dior (French, founded 1947)

Designer:
John Galliano (British, born Gibraltar, 1960)
Couture Line:
(a) House of Dior (French, founded 1947)
Date:
fall/winter 2005–6
Culture:
French
Medium:
(a) silk, synthetic, cotton, wool, plastic, metal; (b, c) leather; (d) metal, synthetic, pearl, silk
Dimensions:
Length at CB (a): 98 in. (248.9 cm) Heel to Toe (b, c): 10 in. (25.4 cm) Diameter (d): 2 1/4 in. (5.7 cm) Height (d): 7 in. (17.8 cm)
Credit Line:
Purchase, The Dorothy Strelsin Foundation Inc. Gift, 2006
Accession Number:
2006.22a–d

This artwork is not on display

80002622
Dress

Dress

House of Balenciaga (French, founded 1937)

Designer:
Cristobal Balenciaga (Spanish, 1895–1972)
Date:
1955–56
Culture:
French
Medium:
wool
Dimensions:
Length: 39 in. (99.1 cm)
Credit Line:
Gift of Muriel Rand, 1964
Accession Number:
C.I.64.4.3

This artwork is not on display

80004544
Dress, Evening

Dress, Evening

(attributed) Madame Grès (Alix Barton) (French, Paris 1903–1993 Var region)

Date:
fall/winter 1954–55
Culture:
French
Medium:
silk
Dimensions:
(a) Length at CB: 49 in. (124.5 cm) (b) Length at CB: 38 1/2 in. (97.8 cm)
Credit Line:
Gift of Mrs. Byron C. Foy, 1956
Accession Number:
C.I.56.60.6a, b

This artwork is not on display

80004765
Dress

Dress

Yves Saint Laurent, Paris (French, founded 1962)

Designer:
Yves Saint Laurent (French (born Algeria) Oran 1936–2008 Paris)
Date:
fall/winter 1965–66
Culture:
French
Medium:
wool
Dimensions:
[no dimensions available]
Credit Line:
Gift of Mrs. William Rand, 1969
Accession Number:
C.I.69.23

Description

As the sack dress evolved in the 1960s into a modified form, the shift, Saint Laurent realized that the dress's planarity was an ideal field for color blocks. Knowing the flat planes of the 1960s canvases acheived by contemporary artists in the lineage of Mondrian, Saint Laurent made the historical case for the artistic sensibility of his time. Yet he also demonstrated a feat of dressmaking, setting in each block of jersey, piecing in order to create the semblance of the Mondrian order and to accomodate the body imperceptibly by hiding all the shaping in the grid of seams.

This artwork is not on display

80004461
Ensemble, Evening

Ensemble, Evening

Yves Saint Laurent, Paris (French, founded 1962)

Designer:
Yves Saint Laurent (French (born Algeria) Oran 1936–2008 Paris)
Date:
fall/winter 1976–77
Culture:
French
Medium:
silk, mylar, glass, metallic thread
Dimensions:
Length at CB (a): 23 1/2 in. (59.7 cm) Length at CB (b): 43 in. (109.2 cm) Overall (d): 99 1/2 x 45 in. (252.7 x 114.3 cm)
Credit Line:
Gift of Bernice Chrysler Garbisch, 1979
Accession Number:
1979.329.6a–d

This artwork is not on display

1

Artworks (9)

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The Model As Muse: Embodying Fashion - Gallery Views

Program information

Exploring the reciprocal relationship between high fashion and evolving ideals of beauty, The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion focuses on iconic models of the twentieth century and their roles in projecting, and sometimes inspiring, the fashion of their respective eras. The exhibition, organized by historical period from 1947 to 1997, will feature haute couture and ready-to-wear masterworks accompanied by fashion photography and video footage of models who epitomized their epochs.

This video takes us through the show’s galleries, introducing the magazines and the models, the iconic images and the iconoclasts, the photographs, videos, spreads, films, and women that defined the fashion of the post-war twentieth century.


Learn more about the exhibition Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion:
http://www.metmuseum.org/exhibitions/listings/2009/model-as-muse

Learn more about the Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art:
http://www.metmuseum.org/about-the-museum/museum-departments/curatorial-departments/the-costume-institute


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Special Exhibition: The Model As Muse: Embodying Fashion

Program information

Isaac Mizrahi, fashion designer, talks with Harold Koda, Curator in Charge of The Costume Institute, and Kohle Yohannan, guest co-curator, about the 1995 documentary Unzipped. In the following excerpts from the conversation, Mizrahi talks about rallying his talent, his team, and his friends—the supermodels—early in his career. A video of the entire conversation is available on the Met's YouTube channel.

The exhibition is made possible by Marc Jacobs.

Additional support is provided by Condé Nast.

The Model as Muse

Embodying Fashion

May 6–August 9, 2009

Accompanied by a catalogue

Exploring the reciprocal relationship between high fashion and evolving ideals of beauty, The Model as Muse: Embodying Fashion focuses on iconic models of the twentieth century and their roles in projecting, and sometimes inspiring, the fashion of their respective eras. The exhibition, organized by historical period from 1947 to 1997, features haute couture and ready-to-wear masterworks accompanied by fashion photography and video footage of models who epitomized their epochs.

See behind-the-scenes photos and gallery views on Flickr.

Left: Cecil Beaton (British, 1904–1980). Dorian Leigh (fourth from left) and unidentified models in Charles James, Vogue, June 1948. Courtesy of the Cecil Beaton Studio Archive at Sotheby's. © Condé Nast Publications Inc.

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