Evening dress
Christian Dior made masterful use of surface embellishments for his evening dresses of the early 1950s. In this example from the 1952-1953 collection, complex beading and applied ruffles create a lively and varied surface for the dress. Pealescent sequins and paillettes of four different shapes and sizes are interspersed with narrow ruffled bands of pale pink horsehair, creating a subtle tone-on-tone pattern that swirls across the skirt and bodice. The pale color palette and strapless neckline makes the garment a prime example of Dior's more revealing looks for 1952, a connection made by Richard Martin in reference to another version of the same dress in the collection of the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Artwork Details
- Title: Evening dress
- Design House: House of Dior (French, founded 1946)
- Designer: Christian Dior (French, Granville 1905–1957 Montecatini)
- Date: 1952–53
- Culture: French
- Medium: silk, horsehair
- Credit Line: Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Rodman A. Heeren, 1961
- Object Number: 2009.300.848
- Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute
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House of Dior
Christian Dior
1952–53
Multiple artists/makers
fall/winter 1961–62
House of Dior
Marc Bohan
1980s
House of Dior
Christian Dior
spring/summer 1955
House of Dior
Gianfranco Ferré
spring/summer 1993
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