Cocktail dress
A classic sheath from Christian Dior's 1955 fall collection, this cocktail dress illustrates the designer's subtle appropriation of menswear styling. The glossy black satin recalls the lapel facing of a man's tuxedo, as does the double-breasted effect created by the self covered decorative buttons. Dior never forgets his client's femininity, however. The silhouette hugs her curves, with the boatneck calling attention to her neck and collarbone. Yves Saint Laurent returned to this notion of a tuxedo for women in 1959 with two dresses for Dior now in the Brooklyn Museum collection (2009.300.362a–d and 2009.300.20a, b) and again in the 1970s with his well-known "le smoking" ensembles.
Artwork Details
- Title: Cocktail dress
- Design House: House of Dior (French, founded 1946)
- Designer: Christian Dior (French, Granville 1905–1957 Montecatini)
- Date: fall/winter 1955
- Culture: French
- Medium: silk
- Credit Line: Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Henry Rogers Benjamin, 1965
- Object Number: 2009.300.363
- Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute
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Multiple artists/makers
fall/winter 1961–62
House of Dior
Marc Bohan
1980s
House of Dior
Christian Dior
spring/summer 1955
House of Dior
Gianfranco Ferré
spring/summer 1993
House of Dior
Gianfranco Ferré
1990–97
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