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"Sylvie"

Design House House of Dior French
Designer (a–d, f, g) Christian Dior French
Designer (e) Elsa Schiaparelli Italian
spring/summer 1951
Not on view
Dior frequently paired his strapless, halter, or in other ways very revealing dresses with evening jackets and coats. A simple and narrow underdress is hidden under a voluminous taffeta coat. The fashion designer may have been sovereign, but this balance between disclosing and covering was, in such instances, determined by the client.

The detail of the sleeve points out how the fabric is gathered into a doughnut shape with a separate knot at the cap and then stitched onto the arm's eye. The effect is to distinguish clearly between this ring of bunched fabric and the shoulder and to form a powerful biceplike mass above the bust.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: "Sylvie"
  • Design House: House of Dior (French, founded 1946)
  • Designer: (a–d, f, g) Christian Dior (French, Granville 1905–1957 Montecatini)
  • Designer: (e) Elsa Schiaparelli (Italian, 1890–1973)
  • Date: spring/summer 1951
  • Culture: French
  • Medium: (a, b) silk
    (c) silk, leather
    (d) silk
    (e) silk, cotton
    (f, g) silk
  • Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Byron C. Foy, 1953
  • Object Number: C.I.53.40.24a–h
  • Curatorial Department: The Costume Institute

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Ensemble, Rick Owens American, (a) cotton, (b) acetate, silk, (c, d) leather, rubber, American
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"Venus", House of Dior French, silk, sequins, rhinestones, simulated pearls, French
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Couture Line House of Dior
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fall/winter 1949–50 haute couture
Glass Horn, Glass, French
Glass Horn
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19th century

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