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Evening coat
Itylus - Enlarge image
Evening coat
- Place of origin:
London, England (made)
- Date:
1924-1926 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Itylus (designer)
- Materials and Techniques:
Hand-sewn velvet, silk chiffon and ostrich feathers, hand-embroidered with sequins and beads, lined with satin
- Credit Line:
Given by Mrs Hywell-Jones
- Museum number:
T.3-1979
- Gallery location:
In Storage
This low-slung black velvet coat has a deep, draped collar and long sleeves. It fastens with one self button below the left hip and is secured inside with black satin ties. The back of the coat and the elbow area of the sleeves have applied embroidered motifs inspired by Chinese designs. It is embroidered in deep pink sequins and a variety of red beads on black chiffon. The bold design consists of swirling floral forms with elongated petals. It has a collar of ostrich feathers dyed deep blue-black with a magenta cluster at the front right. The coat is lined throughout with black satin. It was made between 1924 and 1926 by the English couture house 'Itylus'.
Paul Poiret had popularised evening coats before the First World War. During the 1920s they followed the different shapes of fashion. By 1925 they had become shorter and were more practical. They nevertheless still reflected the vogue for exoticism that began in the early 1920s. This evening coat combines the shape and cut of Western fashion with intricate and luxurious pink metallic embroideries, which were loosely based on Chinese motifs. Designed to reflect light and rhythm, evening fashion of the 1920s made a tremendous use of metallic embroideries and feathers.
