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Coq de Roche
Madeleine Vionnet, born 1876 - died 1975 - Enlarge image
Coq de Roche
- Object:
Evening dress
- Place of origin:
Paris, France (made)
- Date:
1935 (made)
- Artist/Maker:
Madeleine Vionnet, born 1876 - died 1975 (designer)
- Materials and Techniques:
Machine- and hand-sewn crêpe
- Credit Line:
Given by the Baroness Elie de Rothschild
- Museum number:
T.445-1974
- Gallery location:
In Storage
This floor-length wrap-around cocktail dress, made of 'Coq de roche' coloured crepe, was designed by Madeleine Vionnet in 1935. The dress has long, flaring sleeves, and a wide collar which fastens near the left shoulder with a huge orange button. The dress fastens at hip level with two sewn lapels.
The dress is cut on the biais of the fabric, a technique mastered by Madeleine Vionnet at the beginning of the 1920s. Vionnet experimented intensively with fabrics, often letting them dictate the shape or the effect. Her work focussed on the curves and forms of the female body. Her style would come to full fruition in the 1930s and reign supreme throughout the decade.
