Wedding Dress
1948 (designed), 1 September 1948 (worn)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Wedding dress in cream silk moiré with a full length, full skirt, closely fitted bodice and long tight sleeves. The neckline cut wide and low, with a knife-pleated bertha collar. Row of closely spaced covered buttons at wrists and back zipper. Two stiffened synthetic silk waist-petticoats, the top one in silk with a deep moiré flounce, the bottom a crinoline slip interlined with stiffening to support the skirt. Wedding veil of fine silk net attached to a cream satin band with elastic band. Matching cream silk moiré sandals, made by Rayne, with wrap-over effect peep-toe and button, low-ish heel and ankle straps.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 6 parts.
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| Materials and techniques | Cream silk moire, silk net, synthetic silk, and silk satin |
| Physical description | Wedding dress in cream silk moiré with a full length, full skirt, closely fitted bodice and long tight sleeves. The neckline cut wide and low, with a knife-pleated bertha collar. Row of closely spaced covered buttons at wrists and back zipper. Two stiffened synthetic silk waist-petticoats, the top one in silk with a deep moiré flounce, the bottom a crinoline slip interlined with stiffening to support the skirt. Wedding veil of fine silk net attached to a cream satin band with elastic band. Matching cream silk moiré sandals, made by Rayne, with wrap-over effect peep-toe and button, low-ish heel and ankle straps. |
| Production type | Haute couture |
| Gallery label | Charles Creed decided that it was inappropriate for him to design his wife's wedding dress. Instead, he encouraged top model Pat Cunningham to patronise fellow couturier Edward Molyneux. The dress makes a virtue of simplicity: the focal point is the almost off-the-shoulder, shawl-like collar. Stark and elegant, it was the perfect foil for the bride's classic beauty.(1997) |
| Object history | This dress was worn by the fashion model Patricia Aileen Cunningham to marry the British couturier Charles Creed at the Assumption Convent, Kensington Square, on 1 September 1948. Feeling it would be inappropriate if he were to design her dress, Creed recommended his fellow British couturier, Edward Molyneux, to his wife. |
| Bibliographic reference | De la Haye, Amy (ed.). The Cutting Edge: 50 Years of British Fashion 1947- 1997. London, England: V&A Publications, 1997.
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.250 to E-1979 |
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| Record created | August 21, 2003 |
| Record URL |
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