Dress
1949 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Lady Alexandra Howard-Johnston (later Lady Dacre) was the wife of the Naval Attaché to Paris from 1948-50. She required an extensive wardrobe for the many formal dinners and state functions that she had to attend.
A couture client would attend all the fashion collections, seated in the front row if she were especially important like Lady Alexandra. After the show, she would place her orders with her vendeuse (personal saleswoman). A calico toile would be created, then the final garment, a process involving numerous time-consuming fittings.
Lady Alexandra dressed exclusively at the house of Jacques Fath (1912-54). The designer lent her evening and day dresses each season, aware of the publicity that this would give his house. She recalled : ‘If there was a Fath dress I wanted to keep, I could pay sale price at the end of the season. I was not allowed to go to any other couturier, but I did not want to – Fath was perfection.’
This printed day-dress is secured by a set of intricate fastenings. The swag (stiffened with net) crosses over on the left front; the skirt opens on the left back side and fastens with a series of hooks. Its form-fitting style is typical of Fath, who draped fabric around his models in order to create his designs.
A couture client would attend all the fashion collections, seated in the front row if she were especially important like Lady Alexandra. After the show, she would place her orders with her vendeuse (personal saleswoman). A calico toile would be created, then the final garment, a process involving numerous time-consuming fittings.
Lady Alexandra dressed exclusively at the house of Jacques Fath (1912-54). The designer lent her evening and day dresses each season, aware of the publicity that this would give his house. She recalled : ‘If there was a Fath dress I wanted to keep, I could pay sale price at the end of the season. I was not allowed to go to any other couturier, but I did not want to – Fath was perfection.’
This printed day-dress is secured by a set of intricate fastenings. The swag (stiffened with net) crosses over on the left front; the skirt opens on the left back side and fastens with a series of hooks. Its form-fitting style is typical of Fath, who draped fabric around his models in order to create his designs.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
| Materials and techniques | Printed viscose rayon and silk, semi-lined |
| Brief description | Day dress in printed viscose rayon, and with a matching swag, designed by Jacques Fath, Paris, 1949 |
| Physical description | Day dress in a green and violet foliage printed viscose rayon on a white slubweave ground, and with a matching swag. |
| Dimensions |
|
| Production type | Haute couture |
| Marks and inscriptions | 'Jacques Fath Paris' [with emblem above] (Label, machine woven, brown on white) |
| Gallery label |
|
| Credit line | Given by Lady Alexandra Trevor-Roper |
| Subject depicted | |
| Association | |
| Summary | Lady Alexandra Howard-Johnston (later Lady Dacre) was the wife of the Naval Attaché to Paris from 1948-50. She required an extensive wardrobe for the many formal dinners and state functions that she had to attend. A couture client would attend all the fashion collections, seated in the front row if she were especially important like Lady Alexandra. After the show, she would place her orders with her vendeuse (personal saleswoman). A calico toile would be created, then the final garment, a process involving numerous time-consuming fittings. Lady Alexandra dressed exclusively at the house of Jacques Fath (1912-54). The designer lent her evening and day dresses each season, aware of the publicity that this would give his house. She recalled : ‘If there was a Fath dress I wanted to keep, I could pay sale price at the end of the season. I was not allowed to go to any other couturier, but I did not want to – Fath was perfection.’ This printed day-dress is secured by a set of intricate fastenings. The swag (stiffened with net) crosses over on the left front; the skirt opens on the left back side and fastens with a series of hooks. Its form-fitting style is typical of Fath, who draped fabric around his models in order to create his designs. |
| Bibliographic references |
|
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.179&A-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
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | January 11, 2006 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
