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Evening Trouser Suit

August 1961 (made)
Artist/Maker
Lesage (embroiderers)
Cristóbal Balenciaga (designer)
Yves Saint Laurent (designer)
Rabanne, Paco (maker)
Place of origin
Paris (made)

Evening trouser suit consisting of embroidered chenille tunic and wild silk trousers.

Object details

Categories
Fashion
Clothing
Embroidery
Plastic
Object type
Evening trouser suit
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Tunic
  • Trousers
Materials and techniques
Chenille embroidered with cellulose acetate discs and crystal beads, wild silk
Chenille
Chenille
Crystal
Silk (Textile)
Cellulose Acetate
Beading
Weaving
Brief description
Evening trouser suit of embroidered chenille and wild silk, tunic designed by Cristóbal Balenciaga and trousers designed by Yves Saint Laurent, embroidered by Lesage, Paris, August 1961.
Physical description
Evening trouser suit consisting of embroidered chenille tunic and wild silk trousers.
Dimensions
  • Height: 12.5cm
  • Diameter: 25cm
  • Weight: 0.1kg
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Production typeHaute couture
Marks and inscriptions
  • Balenciaga, 10 Avenue George V, Paris (Label, black on white machine woven)
  • 79493 (Printed on back of label)
Credit line
Given by Baroness Philippe de Rothschild
Object history
Worn and given by Baroness Pauline de Rothschild [70/3752F].

American fashion designer, writer and socialite, Pauline Fairfax Potter (1908-1976) married Baron Philippe de Rothschild in 1954. She was named on the International Best Dressed Hall of Fame in 1969.

The National Portrait Gallery contains many photographs of Baroness de Rothschild taken by her friend, Cecil Beaton.

Historical significance: The first use of plastic in association with Paco de Rabanne.
Association
Beaton, Cecil
Bibliographic reference
Fashion : An Anthology by Cecil Beaton. London : H.M.S.O., 1971
Other numbers
  • 99 - Model number
  • 79493 - Couture number
Collection
Textiles and Fashion Collection
Accession number
T.23&A-1974

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Record createdFebruary 21, 2005
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O109486/evening-trouser-suit-cristóbal-balenciaga/
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