Not on display

The Incadinc Dress Kit

Dress Kit
1966-67 (made)
Artist/Maker
Incadinc (designed and made by)
Place of origin
Great Britain (made)

Kit for a metallic dress, clear plastic bag containing two sheets of silver foiled plastic, a sheet of strengtheners (sticky-backed tape), a typewritten letter to the purchaser, and instructions for making up the dress.

Object details

Category
Clothing
Object type
Dress kit
Parts
This object consists of 6 parts.

  • Dress Kit
  • Dress Kit
  • Dress Kit
  • Dress Kit
  • Dress Kit
  • Dress Kit
TitleThe Incadinc Dress Kit (assigned by artist)
Materials and techniques
plastic film with metallic coating
Plastic
Brief description
Dress kit, silvered plastic film (2 pieces and sheet of strengthers) in bag with instructions and letter, Incadinc, Great Britain, 1966-67
Physical description
Kit for a metallic dress, clear plastic bag containing two sheets of silver foiled plastic, a sheet of strengtheners (sticky-backed tape), a typewritten letter to the purchaser, and instructions for making up the dress.
Marks and inscriptions
(Typewritten letter to the purchaser. Some of the language of this letter, while reflecting 1960s attitudes, may be considered offensive. It is reproduced here in its original historical context.)
Transliteration
Sweetiepie The INCADINC kit dress is the cheap, cheaper, cheapest dress ever made to be made by the dumbest bird using her feet. It's the coolest, most-insufferably-irritating-to-all-her-friends-dress a girl could ever wear. It shimmers, crackles, sparkles, disturbs, creates attention, causes riots, stops traffic, blinds and deafens people. It comes in two pieces, which can be ironed with a very cool iron between two copies of the Times, in silver, gold,and all the colours of the rainbow (Solomon, in all his glory etc.) to be stuck together in five minutes with Sellotape any colour, any kind, any pattern. It's virtually indestructible except to a girl with a sharp pair of scissors, a maniac glint in her eye or eyes, and sufficient imagination to see that a hem can be slashed shorter, hearts, flowers, stars and moons cut in it and presents wrapped in it when she gets fed up of being the centre of attention. It's beauty. it's to-day and god knows it's cheap. love and kisses from PAUL + Jonathan + Pam
Credit line
Given by Margaret Gould
Object history
This uncut dress kit, cashing in on the craze for paper and other 'disposable' dresses between 1966 and 1969, was advertised in RAVE magazine in January 1967. Incadinc also designed inflatable furniture, includng a sofa and chair set designed by Paul Woods in 1968 (possibly the same "Paul" who signed the letter enclosed with this kit). The sofa cost £16 and the chair £9 at the time.

Registered File number 1995/285.
Collection
Textiles and Fashion Collection
Accession number
T.247:1 to 6-1995

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O315134/the-incadinc-dress-kit-dress-kit-incadinc/
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