Ball gown, ca. 1951
Jacques Fath (French, 1912–1954)
Black silk velvet with ivory silk satin, white mink, and gold metal trim
Technical Glossary
Jacques Fath (French, 1912–1954)
Black silk velvet with ivory silk satin, white mink, and gold metal trim
Gift of Mrs. Giorgio Uzielli, 1984 (1984.606.3a,b)
Known for flattering dinner dresses that set off the head and shoulders with an audacious décolletage, Fath created a cantilevered outer bodice with a modest ivory satin underbodice. The extended plane of the outer bodice is like the soaring shapes of Saarinen's buildings, establishing an artifice within the canon of modernist restraint. Fath played with contrast—of matte and shiny, of ivory and black, of white fur and gold bullion—as a rich textural perimeter for the dress.
