Evening dress

Madeleine Vionnet never referred to herself as anything but a dressmaker. She was, nevertheless, the preeminent practitioner of her craft. Vionnet's oeuvre is based on her extraordinary innovations in the cut of clothing. Although she is remembered as the originator of the bias dress, her contribution to the artistry of clothing design is far more fundamental. While they are of a consistent elegance and beauty, Vionnet's designs yield the mastery of their conception only in the examination of their cut. Her pattern pieces have a reductivism that anticipates the premises of abstract and minimalist art. In this example, she extrapolates the red and black palette of classical vase painting and employs it to define the form-making parts of the garment. The red neckpiece extends into long ties that girdle the black body of the gown.