Evening dress

Design House House of Vionnet French
 Designer Madeleine Vionnet French

Not on view

In Jungian psychology, the appearance of black birds in dreams is considered a bad omen and allied to fear of misfortune. For the Romantics, they hovered over battlefields to feast on the bodies of the slain. As a chilling prelude to war, the birds on this dress swarm around the body of the wearer like ominous raptors. At the same time, they serve as criticism of the vanity and ostentation of le beau monde. Like the bird who cries cras, cras (tomorrow, tomorrow), the black bird symbolizes those who are caught up in worldly pleasures.

Evening dress, House of Vionnet (French, active 1912–14; 1918–39), silk, spangles, French

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Evening dress, House of Vionnet (French, active 1912–14; 1918–39), silk, spangles, French
Evening dress, House of Vionnet (French, active 1912–14; 1918–39), silk, spangles, French
Evening dress, House of Vionnet (French, active 1912–14; 1918–39), silk, spangles, French
Evening dress, House of Vionnet (French, active 1912–14; 1918–39), silk, spangles, French
Evening dress, House of Vionnet (French, active 1912–14; 1918–39), silk, spangles, French
Evening dress, House of Vionnet (French, active 1912–14; 1918–39), silk, spangles, French
Evening dress, House of Vionnet (French, active 1912–14; 1918–39), silk, spangles, French
Evening dress, House of Vionnet (French, active 1912–14; 1918–39), silk, spangles, French
Evening dress, House of Vionnet (French, active 1912–14; 1918–39), silk, spangles, French
Evening dress, House of Vionnet (French, active 1912–14; 1918–39), silk, spangles, French
Evening dress, House of Vionnet (French, active 1912–14; 1918–39), silk, spangles, French

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