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'Robe de Style'

Dress
1922-1923 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

Jeanne Lanvin was one of the most influential couturières of the 1920's and 1930's. Her robe de style designs embodied delicacy, historicism and romance, and were influenced by the elaborate 18th century costumes worn by Marie Antoinette.

This dress with wide, panniered skirts and simple bodice trimmed with a posy of silk flowers is distinguished by its lightness and typical bell-shaped silhouette. It is one of a collection of Lanvin dresses that were commissioned by controversial Spanish actress Cátalina Bárcena during the 1920’s. Bárcena wore them both on stage and in real-life and was the perfect ambassador for Lanvin's clothes with Lanvin often using her name in adverts for the fashion house.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Title'Robe de Style' (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Silk organza; silk
Brief description
Dress, 'robe de style', white organza with artificial flowers, Jeanne Lanvin, France, ca.1922-3
Physical description
White robe-de-style gown in layered ruffles with artificial flowers
Dimensions
  • Waist, at natural waist rather than dropped waistline of dress circumference: 76.5cm
  • Bodice, centre front length: 37.5cm
  • Bodice, centre front length: 36cm
  • Skirt, centre front length: 95cm
approximate footprint (mm): W1200 x D1100 x H1600
Object history
This example was one of many Lanvin dresses owned by Spanish actress and Hollywood film star Catalina Barcena
Historical context
This dress is known as a ‘robe de style’. Lanvin was famous in the 1920s for these feminine full-skirted designs which went against the prevailing fashion for boyish, tubular clothes. The wide skirt references 18th century court dress whilst the dropped waist gives the gown a distinctly modern, more relaxed feel. Robe de style were popular with women of all ages.
Summary
Jeanne Lanvin was one of the most influential couturières of the 1920's and 1930's. Her robe de style designs embodied delicacy, historicism and romance, and were influenced by the elaborate 18th century costumes worn by Marie Antoinette.

This dress with wide, panniered skirts and simple bodice trimmed with a posy of silk flowers is distinguished by its lightness and typical bell-shaped silhouette. It is one of a collection of Lanvin dresses that were commissioned by controversial Spanish actress Cátalina Bárcena during the 1920’s. Bárcena wore them both on stage and in real-life and was the perfect ambassador for Lanvin's clothes with Lanvin often using her name in adverts for the fashion house.
Collection
Accession number
T.54-2013

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Record createdDecember 21, 2012
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