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Evening ensemble

Designer:
Gilbert Adrian (American, Naugatuck, Connecticut 1903–1959 Hollywood, California)
Date:
1945
Culture:
American
Medium:
silk
Credit Line:
Gift of Eleanor Lambert, 1958
Accession Number:
C.I.58.25a–c
Not on view
In February 1945 Adrian was awarded the third annual American Fashion Critics Award. Thirty-two of the designer's garments were displayed at the award ceremony, including this ensemble which was part of his "Modern Museum" collection. With a palette inspired by Cubism, Adrian extended the abstractions of his earlier designs of the 1940s. Harper's Bazaar described this series as, "intricate as a puzzle and as modern as Picasso." Exploiting the dynamism of the Futurists and the geometric minimalism of the Constructivists, the interconnecting cell-like shapes reflect an abstract bimorphism. Adrian, however, eschewed the utopianism of the Futurist and Constructivist movements with a design philosophy that was firmly grounded in the realities of American life.
Marking: [label] (c) Adrian - Custom
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Adrian: American Glamour," May 14, 2002–August 18, 2002.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "The Art of Fashion," October 23, 1967–January 1, 1968.

National Gallery of Victoria. "Fabulous Fashion (1907–67)," 1981.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art. "Modern Design: 1890–1990," April 21, 1992–November 15, 1992.

Timelines
The United States and Canada, 1900 A.D.-present

Related Objects

Evening ensemble

Artist: Gilbert Adrian (American, Naugatuck, Connecticut 1903–1959 Hollywood, California) Date: 1949–50 Medium: silk, metallic thread Accession: 1979.382a, b On view in:Not on view

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Artist: Gilbert Adrian (American, Naugatuck, Connecticut 1903–1959 Hollywood, California) Date: fall/winter 1950–51 Medium: wool Accession: 1978.122a, b On view in:Not on view

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Artist: Attributed to Gilbert Adrian (American, Naugatuck, Connecticut 1903–1959 Hollywood, California) Date: ca. 1947 Medium: rayon Accession: 1982.422.2 On view in:Not on view
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