Medium: Light blue taffeta, mauve velvet, silver

Date: c.1951

Country: France

Credit: Gift of Mrs. F. Leval

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.

Object Number: 84.125.3