Evening dress
Designer
Vivienne Tam
(born 1957)
Spring 1998
Multicolor nylon net with jersey underdress
Gift of Vivienne Tam
Object number98.50.1
Drawing from a heritage rich in symbology, Vivienne Tam eschews more familiar motifs, such as the Chinese dragon, for a print based on Tibetan tiger rugs. Tam's design aesthetic is decidedly cross-cultural, as is her background. Born in Canton, the designer trained in Hong Kong before establishing her fashion company in New York. In a November 1997 article, Constance C.R. White of The New York Times likened the columnar dress to artwork, writing that the "Tibetan tiger intarsia… gave the model the appearance of a splendid walking sculpture."
DescriptionLong, strapless Tibetan Tiger column dress with large-scale design printed in shades of orange, gray and black on nylon net, with black jersey underdressExhibitions