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Samovar

Evening Dress
1921-1922 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This dramatic gold and black evening dress, called 'Samovar', is composed of a figure-hugging, low-waisted bodice attached to a gathered lace skirt. The knitted black viscose rayon or cuprammonium bodice features gilt metal thread in meanders, and the viscose rayon machine-made lace skirt is worn over a double petticoat of gold lamé and black tulle.

The designer Paul Poiret (1879-1944) was at his peak in the years before the First World War, but he remained a creative force in the 1920s.


Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleSamovar (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
Cuprammonium or viscose rayon, embroidered with gilt strip, machine-made lace over gilt tissue and tulle
Brief description
Samovar, evening dress with a bodice of cuprammonium or viscose rayon yarn knitted with gilt metal thread and a skirt of viscose rayon lace over gold lamé, designed by Paul Poiret, Paris, France, winter 1921-1922.
Physical description
Evening dress composed of a figure-hugging, low-waisted bodice attached to a gathered lace skirt. The knitted black viscose rayon or cuprammonium bodice features gilt metal thread in meanders, and the viscose rayon machine-made lace skirt is worn over a double petticoat of gold lamé and black tulle.
Dimensions
  • Height: 1600mm
  • Width: 700mm
  • Depth: 700mm
Dims when mounted.
Production typeHaute couture
Gallery label
EVENING DRESS 'Samovar' machine embroidery in rayon and gilt strip and machine lace French, Paris, Paul Poiret, 1919-20 Paul Poiret was a superb colourist handling vivid hues with panache, but he was not averse to creating in black fabrics. Early in his career (before he became famous) he made clothes for his mistress and in his autobiography "My First Fifty Years" (Gollancz, 1931) he describes how he attired her with "great elegance and piquancy. I remember a costume of black cloth with a little black pelerine that stopped at the shoulders. She wore it with a little black tricorne hat surmounted by a white cock's head with a red comb. It was a delight." The lace pattern was probably based on an earlier design from the school of decorative art he extablished in 1911 and called 'Martine'. The dress has a dropped waist which is pointed at the front. It is sleeveless with a front V neck and a back square neck. The skirt (over a double petticoat of gilt tissue and black net) is gathered into the waist and shaped by short horsehair frills under the gathers. The bodice's meandering abstract pattern is set against the skirt's stylised bold flower heads and both are enlivened by gold highlights. Given by Mr Vern Lambert The Cecil Beaton Collection T.338-1974(1983-84)
Credit line
Given by Vern Lambert, Cecil Beaton Collection
Object history
RF number is 1970/3752 part F/4.
Summary
This dramatic gold and black evening dress, called 'Samovar', is composed of a figure-hugging, low-waisted bodice attached to a gathered lace skirt. The knitted black viscose rayon or cuprammonium bodice features gilt metal thread in meanders, and the viscose rayon machine-made lace skirt is worn over a double petticoat of gold lamé and black tulle.

The designer Paul Poiret (1879-1944) was at his peak in the years before the First World War, but he remained a creative force in the 1920s.
Bibliographic references
  • Mendes, Valerie. Black In Fashion. London: V&A Publications, 1999.
  • Fashion : An Anthology by Cecil Beaton. London : H.M.S.O., 1971 no.197
  • Features in the publication connected to the V&A exhibition 'Fashioned from Nature', open at V&A South Kensington from 2018 to 2019.
Collection
Accession number
T.338-1974

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Record createdFebruary 7, 2003
Record URL
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