Evening Dress
February 1968 (designed)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
Evening dress of white, machine made guipure lace in a large scale floral design.
The dress is full length and sleeveless with a low, round neck. It is straight cut, tapering slightly from the knee, where there are side slits each headed with a black satin bow, to the hem.
It is lined with brown chiffon, except for the skirt from knee to hem, which is unlined.
There are small bust pads covered to match.
The dress fastens on the left shoulder and at the side with hooks and eyes and covered snap fasteners.
The dress is full length and sleeveless with a low, round neck. It is straight cut, tapering slightly from the knee, where there are side slits each headed with a black satin bow, to the hem.
It is lined with brown chiffon, except for the skirt from knee to hem, which is unlined.
There are small bust pads covered to match.
The dress fastens on the left shoulder and at the side with hooks and eyes and covered snap fasteners.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | Machine made lace, headed with satin bows, lined with brown chiffon |
| Brief description | Evening dress of machine made lace, designed by Cristóbal Balenciaga, possibly manufactured by Foster-Willi, Paris, February 1968 |
| Physical description | Evening dress of white, machine made guipure lace in a large scale floral design. The dress is full length and sleeveless with a low, round neck. It is straight cut, tapering slightly from the knee, where there are side slits each headed with a black satin bow, to the hem. It is lined with brown chiffon, except for the skirt from knee to hem, which is unlined. There are small bust pads covered to match. The dress fastens on the left shoulder and at the side with hooks and eyes and covered snap fasteners. |
| Production type | Haute couture |
| Marks and inscriptions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Credit line | Given by Cecil Beaton |
| Object history | The legendary Mona, Countess Of Bismarck, was an icon of fashion and style. She was born to a humble home in Kentucky, but rose to high society, marrying a string of wealthy socialites. In 1933, luminaries of the couture world as Molyneaux, Lanvin, Vionnet, Lelong, and Chanel, got together and declared Mona to be "The best dressed Woman in the world". Mona adored the simple elegance of haute couture, and indeed, Mona's patronage of Balenciaga has become a part of fashion legend. Mona was a loyal client of Balenciaga for 30 years. One season she bought 80 garments. Even her gardening shorts came from the house. When Balenciaga closed the doors of his atelier in 1968, Mona didn't come out of her room for three days, according to fashion Doyenne Diana Vreeland, who was staying with her at the time. Diana Vreeland noted 'It was the end of a certain part of her life!’ In 1972 Mona's great friend Cecil Beaton persuaded her, and other high society ladies, to donate their wardrobes to the V&A. Beaton described Mona as "a rock-crystal goddess".. |
| Production | Date and model no. attributed by Madame Jouve - archivist at Balenciaga |
| Other numbers |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.24-1977 |
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| Record created | December 5, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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