Skirt Suit
early 1950s (designed)
Artist/Maker | |
Place of origin |
Michael Donéllan, also known as ‘Michael of Carlos Place’, was born in born in Dublin and trained as a surgeon before becoming a couturier. He started his career at Lachasse and opened his salon ‘Michael’ in Carlos Place in 1953. Michael’s sculptural traditional tailoring with a twist, much admired by French couturiers, earned him the reputation for being ‘the Balenciaga of London’. In the 1960s his influence extended to the high street when he became an adviser to Marks & Spencer and worked to improve the cut and cloth used for mass manufactured clothes.
This bespoke skirt and jacket ensemble is a good example of Michael Donellan’s sculptural tailoring and shows the influence of Dior’s 'New Look' in the flared hips and nipped-in waist of the jacket. The shoulders of the jacket are more square than sloping suggesting that this dates to the early 1950s when the shoulder pads popular in the 1940s were still influencial. The double breasted button detail at the waist is a signature of Michael’s designs and can be seen in a later jacket and skirt in the collection T.52:1&2-1997
This bespoke skirt and jacket ensemble is a good example of Michael Donellan’s sculptural tailoring and shows the influence of Dior’s 'New Look' in the flared hips and nipped-in waist of the jacket. The shoulders of the jacket are more square than sloping suggesting that this dates to the early 1950s when the shoulder pads popular in the 1940s were still influencial. The double breasted button detail at the waist is a signature of Michael’s designs and can be seen in a later jacket and skirt in the collection T.52:1&2-1997
Object details
Categories | |
Object type | |
Parts | This object consists of 2 parts.
|
Materials and techniques | wool lined in silk satin; plastic buttons |
Brief description | Blue tailored wool jacket and skirt, Michael Donnéllan, early 1950s |
Physical description | Bespoke tailored jacket and skirt of woven, dyed wool lined in dyed silk satin. The buttons are coloured plastic. |
Dimensions |
|
Credit line | Given by Romayne Wood |
Summary | Michael Donéllan, also known as ‘Michael of Carlos Place’, was born in born in Dublin and trained as a surgeon before becoming a couturier. He started his career at Lachasse and opened his salon ‘Michael’ in Carlos Place in 1953. Michael’s sculptural traditional tailoring with a twist, much admired by French couturiers, earned him the reputation for being ‘the Balenciaga of London’. In the 1960s his influence extended to the high street when he became an adviser to Marks & Spencer and worked to improve the cut and cloth used for mass manufactured clothes. This bespoke skirt and jacket ensemble is a good example of Michael Donellan’s sculptural tailoring and shows the influence of Dior’s 'New Look' in the flared hips and nipped-in waist of the jacket. The shoulders of the jacket are more square than sloping suggesting that this dates to the early 1950s when the shoulder pads popular in the 1940s were still influencial. The double breasted button detail at the waist is a signature of Michael’s designs and can be seen in a later jacket and skirt in the collection T.52:1&2-1997 |
Collection | |
Accession number | T.26:1&2-2014 |
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 | December 17, 2013 |
Record URL |
Download as: JSON