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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


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Jacket
  • Skirt
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
  • Length: 67cm (jacket shoulder to hem)
  • Width: 41.5cm (jacket)
  • Length: 79cm (skirt, waist to hem)
  • Width: 35.5cm (skirt, waist)
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

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Record createdDecember 17, 2013
Record URL
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