Dress

Adrian was keenly aware of the potential that the runway provided long before he introduced his first fashion collection, in 1942. His clothing in the fanciful fashion show scene for the 1939 film The Women became an immediate inspiration to other designers, and his ability to develop a story, to enchant his audience, and—perhaps most importantly—to entertain, was always paramount. This paradigm easily transferred to his fashion shows and the environments he created for his salon, boutiques, and ad campaigns. His lifelong captivation with animals propelled him to bring live creatures onto the runway several times throughout his career, at least twice including monkeys that were accompanied by an organ grinder. This dress from his spring/summer 1950 collection is among a small group of designs that inspired this whimsical method of introduction and, accordingly, features a troop of vervet monkeys that climb both sides of the garment. Subtle construction touches, which attest to the quality that all his clothing exhibits, include irregular seams that swell to incorporate leaf motifs and preserve the painterly flourish of an extended paw.