Evening dress

This elegant evening dress exemplifies the superlative harmony between cut and textile that was characteristic of designs from the French couture house Callot Soeurs. The gown is composed from one continuous length of crepe chiffon, which has been delicately brocaded with a metallic border of orange and gold peonies. A thin band of velvet helps to anchor the ethereal silk, which spirals around the figure on the bias culminating in a dramatic train. The silhouette marks a shift in style that takes place at the end of the 1920s, anticipating the vogue for slinky floor-length bias-cut dresses that would dominate the eveningwear of the following decade. Concurrently, the house of Callot Soeurs underwent its own change during this moment in time, when the head designer Marie Callot Gerber (1857–1927) passed away, leaving the house in the care of her son Pierre Gerber.