Dress thumbnail 1
Dress thumbnail 2
Not currently on display at the V&A

Dress

2000 (designed), 2011 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Hussein Chalayan is one of Britain’s leading designers. His work explores the boundaries between fashion, performance, art and design. He is renowned for his extraordinary use of materials and experimental technology.

Chalayan was born in Nicosia in 1970 and moved to Britain in 1978 where he studied fashion at Warwickshire School of Arts, and went on to study Fashion Design at Central Saint Martins. His graduation collection ‘The Tangent Flow’ in 1993 was an instant hit and was immediately shown in Browns in London. His work explores complex themes such as migration and cultural identity as well as his fascination in popular culture. He has received two British Fashion Awards in 1999 and 2000 and was awarded an MBE in 2006.

This laser cut tulle dress, remade by the designer for the V&A’s exhibition ‘British Design 1948-2012’, was originally created for Chalayan’s groundbreaking Spring/Summer collection in 2000. The dress, made using the then relatively new concept of laser-cutting, is typical of Chalayan’s use of innovative materials and use of form and structure to pose questions about feminine identity.



Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Dress
  • Underskirt
Materials and techniques
Laser cut tulle
Brief description
Dress, laser cut tulle, designed by Hussein Chalayan, London, designed in 2000, made in 2011
Physical description
Dress in pod-like form, made from red and white laser cut tulle
Dimensions
  • Height: 185cm (Note: Dimensions on full figure mannequin )
  • Depth: 105cm (Note: Dimensions on full mannequin )
  • Width: 105cm (Note: Dimensions on full figure mannequin)
Summary
Hussein Chalayan is one of Britain’s leading designers. His work explores the boundaries between fashion, performance, art and design. He is renowned for his extraordinary use of materials and experimental technology.

Chalayan was born in Nicosia in 1970 and moved to Britain in 1978 where he studied fashion at Warwickshire School of Arts, and went on to study Fashion Design at Central Saint Martins. His graduation collection ‘The Tangent Flow’ in 1993 was an instant hit and was immediately shown in Browns in London. His work explores complex themes such as migration and cultural identity as well as his fascination in popular culture. He has received two British Fashion Awards in 1999 and 2000 and was awarded an MBE in 2006.

This laser cut tulle dress, remade by the designer for the V&A’s exhibition ‘British Design 1948-2012’, was originally created for Chalayan’s groundbreaking Spring/Summer collection in 2000. The dress, made using the then relatively new concept of laser-cutting, is typical of Chalayan’s use of innovative materials and use of form and structure to pose questions about feminine identity.

Collection
Accession number
T.56:1, 2-2012

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Record createdMay 10, 2012
Record URL
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