Evening Dress thumbnail 1
Evening Dress thumbnail 2
Not on display

Evening Dress

1922-1923 (made)
Artist/Maker
Jeanne Lanvin (designer)
Place of origin
Paris (made)

Throughout the 1920s Jeanne Lanvin (1867-1946) excelled in the creation of ultra-feminine dresses with fitted bodices and long, full skirts, known as robes de style, of which this evening dress is an example. The black fine silk taffeta dress with boat neckline, and small, capped half-sleeves fastens with poppers down the left side. A pair of immense fern-like fronds are machine-embroidered in furry cream chenille on the skirt, and the cream colour is echoed in floating bands caught in silk georgette bows at the right sleeve and left waist.

Object details

Categories
Fashion
Womenswear
Embroidery
Evening Wear
Textiles
Object type
Evening dress
Materials and techniques
Silk taffeta trimmed with machine-embroidered chenille and silk georgette
Brief description
Evening dress of embroidered silk taffeta, designed by Jeanne Lanvin, Paris, winter 1922-1923
Physical description
Evening dress of black fine silk taffeta with boat neckline and capped half-sleeves gathered into the armhole. It has a natural waistline onto which the long, full skirt is gathered. The skirt front is embroidered with two large leafy fronds in cream chenille.

The dress fastens with poppers down the left side. It has a creamy white georgette belt with a bow and a creamy georgette bow with streamers which falls from under the right hand sleeve.
DimensionsApprox. size 10-12
Marks and inscriptions
  • 'Jeanne Lanvin PARIS UNIS-FRANCE' (Label woven in cream, black and pink)
  • 'HIVER 1922-1923' (Stamped in blue on label)
  • '39378' (Model number written on label)
Gallery label
(1983-84)
PICTURE DRESS, silk taffeta, chenille embroidery and georgette.
French, Paris, Jeanne Lanvin, Winter 1922-23

Many of Jeanne Lanvin's 1920s designs were feminine and full skirted at a time when her fellow couturiers were issuing boyish, tubular clothes. The only feature they had in common was the dropped waist. Leading fashion illustrators for magazines such as The Gazette du Bon Ton delighted in setting her romantic designs in idyllic park or garden landscapes.

This dress in the lightest silk taffeta is typical of her picturesque creations. The cut and finishing of her clothes are always immaculate. Here the shallow boat neckline, armholes, sleeve edges and hem are trimmed with narrow self-binding. The blackness is skilfully relieved by two large fronds of cream chenille and georgette bows with streamers.

T.334-1978
Summary
Throughout the 1920s Jeanne Lanvin (1867-1946) excelled in the creation of ultra-feminine dresses with fitted bodices and long, full skirts, known as robes de style, of which this evening dress is an example. The black fine silk taffeta dress with boat neckline, and small, capped half-sleeves fastens with poppers down the left side. A pair of immense fern-like fronds are machine-embroidered in furry cream chenille on the skirt, and the cream colour is echoed in floating bands caught in silk georgette bows at the right sleeve and left waist.
Bibliographic reference
Mendes, Valerie. Black In Fashion. London: V&A Publications, 1999.
Collection
Textiles and Fashion Collection
Accession number
T.334-1978

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Record createdDecember 15, 1999
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O15643/evening-dress-jeanne-lanvin/
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