Cocktail dress

Arnold Scaasi, the designer of this ball gown, is best known for his evening wear designs, worn by a long list of celebrity clients primarily during the 1960s through the 1980s. Scaasi's work incorporates lavish surface decoration, often in the form of floral trimming, bright colors and full silhouettes that extend the proportions of the body. Scaasi creations are rarely easy to ignore; their ostentatious quality has become a signature of the designer's work. This dress, like another example in the Brooklyn Museum collection (2009.300.1063a, b), features large-scale silk poppies as trimming. Scaasi has long believed that clothing with some adornment is more interesting to look at and more fun to wear, and so he often incorporated feathers and flowers into his designs. This garment was donated to the Brooklyn Museum by Kay Kerr, an executive at Neiman Marcus department store.