"Carnival Dress"
The skirt of this ensemble references crinolines of the 1850s and 1860s. Traditionally made out of wired hoops connected by canvas tapes, crinolines were worn under a skirt to give it a fashionable bell-shaped volume. In an early example of underwear as outerwear, however, Vionnet has exposed the crinolines to create dresses of remarkable beauty and sensuality. Made out of tulle, they appear as fragile and diaphanous as a Portuguese 'man-of-war'.
Artwork Details
- Title: "Carnival Dress"
- Design House: House of Vionnet (French, active 1912–14; 1918–39)
- Designer: Madeleine Vionnet (French, Chilleurs-aux-Bois 1876–1975 Paris)
- Date: fall/winter 1936–37
- Culture: French
- Medium: silk
- Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Harrison Williams, 1952
- Object Number: C.I.52.24.3a, b
- Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute
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House of Vionnet
Madeleine Vionnet
1924
House of Vionnet
Madeleine Vionnet
ca. 1936
House of Vionnet
Madeleine Vionnet
fall/winter 1929–30
House of Vionnet
Madeleine Vionnet
early 1930s
House of Vionnet
Madeleine Vionnet
ca. 1931
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