Cape thumbnail 1
Not currently on display at the V&A

Cape

1935 (made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

This evening cape designed by Jeanne Lanvin (1864–1946) is a good example of her consummate knowledge of fabrics and characteristic love of textures. During the 1930s, fashion designers created boleros and short capes to emphasise the length and fluid shapes of evening gowns.

The waist-length evening cape is made of purple silk velvet ruched to achieve the effect of Astrakhan fur. It has a wide rounded square falling collar fastening at the neck with a silvered button. The ruching, moulded on chiffon, is vertical over the shoulder, and horizontal on the collar and on the rest of the garment. It is lined with satin matching the dress.

This cape shows a very avant-garde design for the period. Its architectural shape, the exaggerated off-the-neck collar and the use of huge buttons herald, almost 20 years before its time, a style developed by Balenciaga in the mid-1950s.


Object details

Categories
Object type
Materials and techniques
Silk velvet, chiffon, lined with satin
Brief description
Waist-length evening cape made of silk velvet, designed by Jeanne Lanvin, Paris, 1935
Physical description
Waist-length evening cape made of purple silk velvet rushed to achieve the effect of Astrakhan fur. The ruching is vertical over the shoulder, moulded on chiffon and horizontal on the collar and on the rest of the garment. It is lined with purple satin. Hand sewn and hand rushed.
Style
Production typeHaute couture
Credit line
Given by Mrs I. L. Martin
Production
Winter 1935
Summary
This evening cape designed by Jeanne Lanvin (1864–1946) is a good example of her consummate knowledge of fabrics and characteristic love of textures. During the 1930s, fashion designers created boleros and short capes to emphasise the length and fluid shapes of evening gowns.

The waist-length evening cape is made of purple silk velvet ruched to achieve the effect of Astrakhan fur. It has a wide rounded square falling collar fastening at the neck with a silvered button. The ruching, moulded on chiffon, is vertical over the shoulder, and horizontal on the collar and on the rest of the garment. It is lined with satin matching the dress.

This cape shows a very avant-garde design for the period. Its architectural shape, the exaggerated off-the-neck collar and the use of huge buttons herald, almost 20 years before its time, a style developed by Balenciaga in the mid-1950s.
Collection
Accession number
T.340A-1965

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Record createdNovember 14, 2003
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