Dress
1963-5 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Kiki Byrne (1937-2013) was one of the leading names in British 'youthquake' fashion, and one of Mary Quant’s main competitors, retailing from her own rival boutique on the King’s Road, not far from Quant’s ‘Bazaar’. Kiki Byrne’s simple, unfussy shift dresses and suits were popular with London’s actresses and models, although (like Quant’s) they were expensive compared to the more accessible clothes later designed by Barbara Hulanicki for Biba. Hulanicki commented in her 1983 autobiography that ‘Kiki Byrne never got the recognition she deserved’. Kiki Byrne also designed successfully for films, and created the golden bikini worn by Margaret Nolan in the title sequence of the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Materials and techniques | machine lace on 'moygashel' synthetic linen base |
| Brief description | Dress of tiered pink nylon machine lace by Kiki Byrne, about 1964 |
| Physical description | Sleeveless, short evening dress constructed of horizontal tiers of pink machine lace mounted on a synthetic linen ('Moygashel') base. Lined with acetate. |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Given by Kate Howard Davies |
| Summary | In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Kiki Byrne (1937-2013) was one of the leading names in British 'youthquake' fashion, and one of Mary Quant’s main competitors, retailing from her own rival boutique on the King’s Road, not far from Quant’s ‘Bazaar’. Kiki Byrne’s simple, unfussy shift dresses and suits were popular with London’s actresses and models, although (like Quant’s) they were expensive compared to the more accessible clothes later designed by Barbara Hulanicki for Biba. Hulanicki commented in her 1983 autobiography that ‘Kiki Byrne never got the recognition she deserved’. Kiki Byrne also designed successfully for films, and created the golden bikini worn by Margaret Nolan in the title sequence of the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.22-2015 |
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| Record created | July 9, 2014 |
| Record URL |
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