Medium: Orange silk faille and magenta silk

Date: c. 1959

Country: USA

Credit: Gift of Mildred Morton

This luxurious evening dress and coat set is an important example of Scaasi's extensive oeuvre, which is distinguished for vivid color combinations and sumptuous evening ensembles. By the mid-1950s he had begun to design what would become a Scaasi signature - dynamic ensembles combining lavish silk dresses with coordinating evening coats lined in the dress fabric. Scaasi's taste for flamboyant colors is clear. "I prefer using color to black and white," he said. "Shades of red, pink, turquoise, violet and sapphire blue can be more flattering and exciting to look at." In this example, Scaasi has used a supple magenta silk satin for the dress and a bold orange silk faille for the evening coat, which is lined in the magenta silk. When the coat is closed, the dress's exaggerated magenta silk bow peeks out of the coat's décolletage, creating a provocative statement as the two vibrant colors compete. According to Scaasi, "Clothes should be worn to make one feel good, to flatter and as a statement of personality." It is undeniable that a woman wearing this dynamic ensemble would project a bold and confident presence.

Object Number: 76.113.2