Evening Dress thumbnail 1
Evening Dress thumbnail 2
+7
images
Not currently on display at the V&A

Evening Dress

February 1962 (made), 1961 (designed)
Artist/Maker
Balenciaga, Cristóbal (designer)
Place of origin
Paris (made)

Evening dress of bright pink gazar and lined with pink silk. It is full length and strapless with a waisted, boned foundation. It is a fitted sheath to mid-thigh, slightly shorter in the front and curving to a soft V shape at the back. It has three deep flounces from bodice to hem, a centre back zip fastening and a narrow train attached to the foundation and the centre back waist.


Object details

Categories
Fashion
Clothing
Evening Wear
Object type
Evening dress
Materials and techniques
Gazar, lined with silk, boned
Gazar
Silk (Textile)
Weaving
Brief description
Gazar evening dress, designed by Cristóbal Balenciaga, Paris, 1962.
Physical description
Evening dress of bright pink gazar and lined with pink silk. It is full length and strapless with a waisted, boned foundation. It is a fitted sheath to mid-thigh, slightly shorter in the front and curving to a soft V shape at the back. It has three deep flounces from bodice to hem, a centre back zip fastening and a narrow train attached to the foundation and the centre back waist.
Dimensions
  • Sweep of dress circumference: 207cm
  • Bust of dress width: 94cm
  • Length of dress from neck to hem length: 133cm
  • Armhole of dress length: 19cm
  • Depth of dress hem length: 7.5cm
  • Sweep of cape circumference: 222cm
  • Depth of hem on cape length: 32cm
Dimensions measured ZC 11/03/2016
Production typeHaute couture
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'Balenciaga, 10 Avenue George V, Paris' (Label, inside side seam, machine woven black on white)
  • 76993 (Handwritten on back of label)
  • SRA NIARCHOS 1962 (Label, inside front hem, handwritten in pen)
    Translation
    MRS NIARCHOS 1962
Gallery label
FLAMENCO DANCING Spanish flamenco inspires many of Balenciaga’s designs. The traditional bata de cola hugs the dancer’s upper body, while the skirt’s many flounces exaggerate her movements. Here Balenciaga uses just three flounces and lengthens the train with a separate flounce attached at the back. Evening dress Silk gazar Cristóbal Balenciaga, Paris, 1961 Given by Mr Stavros Niarchos V&A: T.26-1974(27/05/2017-07/02/2018)
Credit line
Given by Mr Stavros Niarchos
Object history
Worn by Mrs Stavros Niarchos
Historical context
Niarchos was a direct rival to Aristotle Onassis, and the ship-owners' rivalry continued into their private lives, and after Eugenia passed away, he married her sister Tina Onassis, who was also Aristotle's ex wife. At the head of a 4 billion dollar fortune, the rich ship-owner prided himself on having married five times in the course of his life.
Associations
Beaton
Niarchos, Stavros
Bibliographic references
  • Fashion : An Anthology by Cecil Beaton. London : H.M.S.O., 1971 no. 17
  • The following excerpt is taken from Miller, Lesley Ellis. Cristóbal Balenciaga (1895-1972): The Couturiers' Couturier. London: V & A Pub., 2007: "Designed by Balenciaga in February 1961, this evening dress makes reference to Spanish flamenco dress in its dramatic colour and its flounced skirt, but not in its stresslessness. Both Spanish customers, such as the Marquesa de Llanzol, and foreign customers, such as Mrs Stavros Niarchos, to whom this dress belonged, chose this model. It required a certain confidence and presence to work to full advantage, and a social calendar that suited this kind of exuberance".
  • The following excerpt is taken from Jouve, Marie-Andrée, and Demornex, Jacqueline. <i>Balenciaga</i>. New York: Rizzoli, 1989. "The collaboration with Gustave Zumsteg was [even more] important. During the sixties Abraham cloth was used for one third of his collections. Like other manufacturers, Zumsteg created materials especially for Balenciaga, complying with his needs and wishes. Balenciaga was able to select exactly what he wanted from hundreds of similar versions. On certain occasions they joined creative forces. Gazar, produced by Zumsteg in 1958, and Zagar (super-gazar, made in 1964), were more than simply materials. Zumsteg provided Balenciaga with a texture, a thickness, a stiffness and a weight as essential to the Master as Carrara marble to the sculptor".
  • Miller, Lesley Ellis, and Ana Cabrera Lafuente, with Claire Allen-Johnstone, eds. Silk: Fibre, Fabric and Fashion. London: Thames & Hudson Ltd in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum, 2021. ISBN 978-0-500-48065-6. This object features in the publication Silk: Fibre, Fabric and Fashion (2021)
Other numbers
  • 149 - Model number
  • 76993 - Couture number
Collection
Textiles and Fashion Collection
Accession number
T.26-1974

About this object record

Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.

You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.

Suggest feedback

Record createdFebruary 21, 2005
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O109496/evening-dress-balenciaga-cristóbal/
Download as: JSON