Evening dress

winter 1938–39

Not on view

From the winter 1938-39 zodiac collection, this dress is a chic example of Schiaparelli's penchant for using unique fabrics to embellish streamlined silhouettes. The fabric used here is a subtly ribbed fancy weave that drapes beautifully and has a textured hand. As Dilys Blum states in "Shocking! The Art and Fashion of Elsa Schiaparelli," this collection was inspired by Euclid's treatise on geometry "Elements." The cords used to fashionably gather in the bodice are emblematic of that mathematical precision, as it would require exact measurements to accomplish the seemingly simple effect.

Artwork Details

Object Information

Overview

Signatures, Inscriptions, and Markings

Title: Evening dress
Designer: Elsa Schiaparelli (Italian, 1890–1973)
Date: winter 1938–39
Culture: French
Medium: silk
Credit Line: Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Millicent Huttleston Rogers, 1951
Object Number: 2009.300.150
Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute

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