Evening dress
Designer
Grès
(French)
1955
Pale pink matte silk jersey
Gift of Mrs. E.L. Cournand
Object number77.187.1
The unique feature of this gown is the horizontal pleating of the bodice, a slight variation that allowed Madame Grès to create a narrow, vertical ruffle from the fabric edges. Large amounts of fabric are contained within the tightest and deepest possible fluting, or deep pleating, without creating bulk. The use of corseting was a dramatic development in Grès's classically-inspired gowns, for it shows that she not only followed fashion trends, but also that she abandoned, in part, her pre-war practice of draping fabric on an un-girdled female form. Corsets gave her the structure on which to perfect her fluting technique as well as to construct strapless prototypes.
DescriptionGoddess evening dress in pale pink silk jersey; strapless bodice molded with tucks and stitched to boned longline net foundation / corset, tucks release along CF closure - ruffle effect created; dropped waist - curved hipline, long skirt cartridge pleated at seamCollections
Exhibitions