Space Baby
Wedding Dress
1989 (designed), 1990 (made)
1989 (designed), 1990 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
In many catwalk fashion shows a wedding dress closes the show and acts as a spectacular finale to the presentation. It is intended to linger in the viewer's memory. This provocative dress and shawl were featured in Red or Dead's first catwalk fashion show in 1989.
Red or Dead, founded by Wayne Hemingway in 1983, was heavily influenced by "street style" and aimed to offer non-elitist, affordable and creative style for all. They were first invited to show at London Fashion Week in 1989, where they presented their "Space Baby" collection for Spring/Summer 1990. The show closed with a traditional halter-neck, princess-line wedding gown with long train and matching ruffled shawl - made entirely in futuristic clear vinyl. In stark contrast to more traditional white silk fabrics, the dress is waterproof, wipe-clean, and hard-wearing. However, its transparency made it unsuitable for a religious ceremony. Its primary role was to act as a memorable close to the designers' first catwalk show.
Red or Dead, founded by Wayne Hemingway in 1983, was heavily influenced by "street style" and aimed to offer non-elitist, affordable and creative style for all. They were first invited to show at London Fashion Week in 1989, where they presented their "Space Baby" collection for Spring/Summer 1990. The show closed with a traditional halter-neck, princess-line wedding gown with long train and matching ruffled shawl - made entirely in futuristic clear vinyl. In stark contrast to more traditional white silk fabrics, the dress is waterproof, wipe-clean, and hard-wearing. However, its transparency made it unsuitable for a religious ceremony. Its primary role was to act as a memorable close to the designers' first catwalk show.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 3 parts.
|
| Title | Space Baby (assigned by artist) |
| Materials and techniques | Polyvinyl chloride |
| Brief description | Wedding dress 'Space Baby' of PVC with a belt and stole, designed by John McKitterick in 1989 for Red or Dead, made in London, 1990 |
| Physical description | Wedding dress outfit made from semi-transparent clear PVC with a belt and stole wrap. |
| Production type | Haute couture |
| Credit line | Given by the designer |
| Object history | Registered File number 1990/147. |
| Historical context | The stole wrap to this dress was featured in British 'Vogue', March 1990. It was priced at £110. Spacebaby belts appeared in 'Elle', March 1990, with a price of £20 each. |
| Production | Made Spring/Summer 1990 |
| Summary | In many catwalk fashion shows a wedding dress closes the show and acts as a spectacular finale to the presentation. It is intended to linger in the viewer's memory. This provocative dress and shawl were featured in Red or Dead's first catwalk fashion show in 1989. Red or Dead, founded by Wayne Hemingway in 1983, was heavily influenced by "street style" and aimed to offer non-elitist, affordable and creative style for all. They were first invited to show at London Fashion Week in 1989, where they presented their "Space Baby" collection for Spring/Summer 1990. The show closed with a traditional halter-neck, princess-line wedding gown with long train and matching ruffled shawl - made entirely in futuristic clear vinyl. In stark contrast to more traditional white silk fabrics, the dress is waterproof, wipe-clean, and hard-wearing. However, its transparency made it unsuitable for a religious ceremony. Its primary role was to act as a memorable close to the designers' first catwalk show. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | T.159 to B-1990 |
About this object record
Explore the Collections contains over a million catalogue records, and over half a million images. It is a working database that includes information compiled over the life of the museum. Some of our records may contain offensive and discriminatory language, or reflect outdated ideas, practice and analysis. We are committed to addressing these issues, and to review and update our records accordingly.
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
You can write to us to suggest improvements to the record.
Suggest feedback
| Record created | June 23, 2009 |
| Record URL |
Download as: JSON
