97.70.1

Images (3)

Exoticism_28 Left to right 92.229.9 (textile wall), 88.63.28 (hat case), 86.91.10 (necklace case), 2004.38.4 (shoes case), 96.6.23 (dress), 87.64.1 (paisley dress), 95.7.2 (sweater ensemble hidden), 99.53.1 (pink velvet suit), 92.182.1 (boots case), 93.165.2 (hat case), 98.13.1 (shoes case), 98.50.1 (tiger print dress partial), 97.70.1 (ensemble hidden), 99.43.1 (red gown)

Object: Ensemble

Designer: Romeo Gigli (born 1949)

Date: 1995

Medium: Silk, beads, and copper bracelet

Country: Italy

Credit Line: Gift of Romeo Gigli

Object number: 97.70.1

DescriptionEnsemble: brown silk bra top; copper silk pants with brown print of geometric designs; corset with red, blue & brown beads; brass bracelet with engraved design; leather thong sandals

Label Text:Romeo Gigli is best known for his poetic, historicizing fashions of the 1980s. However, he has also explored the theme of exoticism. This African-inspired ensemble draws on elements of traditional dress in Mali, Kenya, and the Sudan. The lightweight, earth-toned silks of the bra top and the pants are a somewhat subdued choice for the designer, as he abandons his use of overtly luxurious fabrics. A feeling of opulence has been achieved instead through the complex construction of the corset, highlighted through the use of striking blue and red beads. The corset also acts as a new take on the bustiers that Gigli layered over ensembles in several earlier collections.

In Collection(s)

1990s

Exhibitions:

Reinvention and Restlessness: Fashion in the Nineties
Exoticism
50 Years of Fashion, 1947 - 1997