84.125.3

Images (7)

RetroSpective_01 Left to right 81.36.1 and 2004.24.2 (shoes case), 78.11.79 (textile wall), P78.3.2 (dress), 80.30.42B (textile wall), 84.125.3 (evening dress), 83.172.8 (textile wall), P94.9.2 (black dress), 2009.35.1 (dress)

RetroSpective_21 Left to right P80.5.7 (coat and vest), 2007.54.2 (ensemble), 78.11.79 (textile wall), 2013.3.1 and 2013.3.2 and 83.208.2 (shoes and buckles case), 81.36.1 and 2004.24.2 (shoes case), P78.3.2 (dress), 80.30.42B (textile wall), 84.125.3 (evening dress), 83.172.8 (textile wall), P94.9.2 (black dress), 2009.35.1 (dress hidden)

RetroSpective_23 Left to right P78.3.2 (dress), 80.30.42B (textile wall), 84.125.3 (evening dress)

Object: Evening dress

Brand: Balmain (French, founded 1945)

Designer: Pierre Balmain (1914 - 1982)

Date: Fall 1951

Medium: Light blue taffeta, mauve velvet, and silver metal

Country: France

Credit Line: Gift of Mrs. Fernand Leval

Object number: 84.125.3

DescriptionCorset evening dress; blue taffeta boned bodice with pointed and laced back, grey / green velvet full skirt with waist yoke and blue taffeta underskirt panel; silver ball buttons

Label Text:Balmain revealed in his autobiography a fascination for the "intriguing play of materials against the feminine form." Here, he has used lush materials in soft colors to emphasize the hyper-feminine ideal of the 1950s. The waistline is created by an intricate boned taffeta corset, laced up the back. A full velvet skirt with pleating and a yoke adds volume to the hip, further emphasizing the crucial wasp waist. The seductive strapless gown, with delicate silver ball buttons open at front to reveal the underskirt, is slightly reminiscent of an 18th-century gown and stomacher.

Exhibitions:

50 Years of Fashion, 1947 - 1997
RetroSpective
The Corset: Fashioning the Body