Evening ensemble
As Mrs. Kempner told the Independent for January 16, 1994, "In the seventies, I was a Moroccan, a Chinese woman, Carmen. I traveled the world through my Saint Laurent clothes. And I was a Russian peasant from the Ballets Russes. . . . I remember . . . Tommy [Mr. Kempner] would pick me up, and he'd say: 'Now who are we today?'"
Saint Laurent's evening gown from his "Russian Collection" is a relatively rare style for Mrs. Kempner. With this full-skirted gown she veered from the columnar silhouette that she found so flattering to her attenuated frame. Saint Laurent's "Russian Collection" was, like Dior's "New Look," a dramatically anachronistic evocation of the past. It's opulent romanticism, however, recharged the enervated world of haute couture. As was often the case with Saint Laurent, this seminal collection anticipated the historicizing extravagance of the 1980s by almost a decade.
Saint Laurent's evening gown from his "Russian Collection" is a relatively rare style for Mrs. Kempner. With this full-skirted gown she veered from the columnar silhouette that she found so flattering to her attenuated frame. Saint Laurent's "Russian Collection" was, like Dior's "New Look," a dramatically anachronistic evocation of the past. It's opulent romanticism, however, recharged the enervated world of haute couture. As was often the case with Saint Laurent, this seminal collection anticipated the historicizing extravagance of the 1980s by almost a decade.
Artwork Details
- Title: Evening ensemble
- Design House: Yves Saint Laurent (French, founded 1961)
- Designer: Yves Saint Laurent (French (born Algeria) Oran 1936–2008 Paris)
- Date: fall/winter 1976–77
- Culture: French
- Medium: a) silk, jet; b,c) silk
- Credit Line: Gift of Thomas L. Kempner, 2006
- Object Number: 2006.420.73a–d
- Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute
More Artwork
Research Resources
The Met provides unparalleled resources for research and welcomes an international community of students and scholars. The Met's Open Access API is where creators and researchers can connect to the The Met collection. Open Access data and public domain images are available for unrestricted commercial and noncommercial use without permission or fee.
To request images under copyright and other restrictions, please use this Image Request form.
Feedback
We continue to research and examine historical and cultural context for objects in The Met collection. If you have comments or questions about this object record, please complete and submit this form. The Museum looks forward to receiving your comments.