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

Evening Dress

1964 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Embroidered organza evening dress and petticoat.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Dress
  • Petticoat
Materials and techniques
Embroidered organza with openwork, cutwork and appliqué, net, silk lined and boned
Brief description
Embroidered organza evening dress and petticoat, designed by Marc Bohan for Christian Dior, Paris, 1964
Physical description
Embroidered organza evening dress and petticoat.
Dimensions
  • Bust circumference: 100cm
  • Shoulder to hem length: 148cm
Production typeHaute couture
Marks and inscriptions
'Christian Dior Paris No. 123091' (On woven label, black on white)
Credit line
Given by Mrs Alfred Bloomingdale
Object history
This evening dress was made for the American socialite and philanthropist Betsy Bloomingdale (b. 1922) in 1964, and was a favourite dress of hers. Betsy Bloomingdale has regularly appeared on the International Best Dressed List since 1970, and in 2009, her wardrobe was the subject of an exhibition at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising Museum. The show, titled "High Style: Betsy Bloomingdale and the Haute Couture", displayed gowns worn by Bloomingdale since the 1960s.

This particular dress was acquired by the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1974 as part of the Cecil Beaton Collection brought together by the society photographer Sir Cecil Beaton (1904-1980). With great energy and determination Beaton contacted the well-dressed elite of Europe and North America to help create a lasting monument to the art of dress. His Collection was exhibited in 1971, accompanied by a catalogue that detailed its enormous range.

In November 2005, Betsy gave a group of fabric swatches to the FIDM museum for their collection, saying in an accompanying note that they were "from a dress I adored by Marc Bohan for Christian Dior. They always sent you extra pieces of the "extravagant" dress in case "repair" was needed. This was my very favourite, long white organdy with this beautiful applique. . . It ended up in the Museum in London for a Cecil Beaton exhibit. . . . I wish I had it today!" The swatches were passed to the V&A by FIDM so that they could be reunited with the original dress. Their Museum numbers are T.77, 78 and 79-2016.

Daniel Milford-Cottam
31/05/2016
Associated objects
Bibliographic reference
Fashion : An Anthology by Cecil Beaton. London : H.M.S.O., 1971 377D
Other number
123091 - Couture number
Collection
Accession number
T.135&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

Record createdSeptember 14, 2007
Record URL
Download as: JSON