Medium: Orange shirred velvet

Date: Fall 1984

Country: France

Credit: Museum purchase

This "corset" dress, with an exaggerated cone bust and back lacing, is one of the most iconic designs of Jean Paul Gaultier's career. He based the design and slightly faded color on a corset found in his grandmother's closet, an object that fascinated him as a young boy. His interpretation is fetishistic and unusually sexy, with a look that helped launch the 1980s craze of underwear-as-outerwear. Pop singer Madonna later adopted the torpedo-like bust into her stage costumes, furthering Gaultier's reputation as the enfant terrible of Paris fashion.

Object Number: P92.8.1