Object: Dress
Brand:
Comme des Garçons
(Japanese, founded 1969)
Designer:
Rei Kawakubo
(born 1942)
Date: Spring 2018
Medium: Polyester, cotton, and nylon
Country: Japan
Credit Line: Gift of Nordstrom
Object number: 2021.33.5
DescriptionMulticolor brushed polyester short turned up sleeve floral dress with Giuseppe Arcimboldo anthropomorphic vegetable and collage floral print with polka dot neckline, pannier tulle padded hips; Look 13
Label Text:This dress depicts Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s seventeenth-century painting of the Emperor Rudolf II as Vertumnus, the Roman god of seasons. Arcimboldo was known for his portraits depicting his subjects as a composite of fruits, vegetables, and flowers. The painting is viewed as an allegory, symbolizing the emperor as ruler of all things. Designer Rei Kawakubo’s avant-garde silhouette, here flattened and evoking a canvas, adds a sense of grandeur to this-food-meets-fashion artistic display.
In Collection(s)
Exhibitions:
- Food and Fashion