2012.36.2

Images (3)

Exhibitionism_12 Left to right 89.102.2 (pink dress), 2001.44.4 (shirt wall top), 90.179.2 (shirt wall middle), 90.179.1 (shirt wall bottom), 2012.36.2 (printed dress), 2010.56.1 (skirt suit), 78.57.6 (blue pantsuit), 2008.28.1 and 2008.28.2 (leather vest and pants), 88.134.28 (jacket)

Object: Dress

Brand: Alexander McQueen (English, founded 1992)

Designer: Alexander McQueen (1969 - 2010)

Date: Spring 2010

Medium: Silk engineered print and horse hair

Country: England

Credit Line: Museum purchase

Object number: 2012.36.2

Descriptionshort dress in an engineered sea reptile (python, snake) print in shades of yellow, orange, green, blue, brown, and ivory, digitally printed on sheer silk organza-like fabric with a supplemental satin-like weave structure at upper dress ending at lower skirt; fitted bodice; wide V neckline, lower at back; short puffy sleeves with deep side pleats at lower sleeve, two-piece sleeve - internal sleeve cap extends from bodice, upper sleeve semi-attached at front and back bodice, loose at cap; full draped flounce skirt with up and down pleat-like swags, horse hair at skirt hem; boned corset foundation garment with attached slip in silk and polyamide blend

Label Text:Alexander McQueen’s reptile pattern on this dress from the "Plato’s Atlantis" collection is engineered to follow the silhouette of the dress. Snakes are feared for their sly, venomous nature, but they also possess positive associations of strength and rejuvenation. The beauty of snakeskin–either real or fabricated—has long made it an alluring material for fashion.

In Collection(s)

2010s

Exhibitions:

Exhibitionism: 50 Years of the Museum at FIT
A Queer History of Fashion: From the Closet to the Catwalk
Fairy Tale Fashion