Object: Evening dress
Designer:
Norell
(1900 - 1972)
Date: c. 1972
Medium: Silk jersey and sequins
Country: USA
Credit Line: Museum purchase
Object number: P86.43.3
DescriptionSequined two tone mermaid dress, silk jersey evening shift; gold bodice with stand collar and long sleeve and drop waist, blue full length straight skirt
Label Text:Norman Norell began making his slinky, sequined “mermaid” dresses as early as 1949, and he continued to make variations on the style over the course of his career. Although most of the “mermaid” designs were slim and sleek, Norell crafted them in a wide array of colors and with varying necklines and arm coverings, ranging from high turtlenecks with long sleeves to body-baring halter necks. Fashion writer Bernadine Morris considered them some of Norell’s most spectacular designs, stressing that they “made everyone who wore them glow like a mermaid.”
Exhibitions:
- Norman Norell
- Norell: Dean of American Fashion
- Fairy Tale Fashion