Evening gown – duccnguyen&co

Evening dress and sleeve
Christian Lacroix, born 1951

This spectacular dress was given to the Victoria and Albert Museum very shortly after its first appearance on Lacroix’s catwalk in the autumn 1996 Paris fashion shows.

Christian Lacroix opened his haute couture house in 1986. His luxurious fashions, typified by this hooped evening dress, reflect an abiding passion for historical styles, ornate textiles, and elaborate decoration, all of which he translates in a contemporary idiom.

In a striking palette of acidic yellow and pastels, the dress forms part of Lacroix’s “18th-Century Haute Couture Collection,” which draws on a wide range of pre-1968 fashion references. Lacroix describes this collection as elegant and slightly dishevelled: “Nothing seems to be held in place. The fabric is wrapped. It pirouettes around obstinately asymmetrical necklines.”

Place of Origin: Paris, France (made)
Date: 1996 (designed)
Artist/maker: Lacroix, Christian, born 1951 (designer)
Materials and Techniques: Chiné-printed silk taffeta and lace, embroidered with sequins, pastes and beads
Dimensions: [Evening dress] Length: 150 cm, Circumference: 70 cm bust, Circumference: 62 cm waist, Circumference: 170 cm hoop, maximum

Here are some creative projects that inspire me in Victoria and Albert Museum Archives. You can see other projects on my Pinterest or on my #ThrowbackFashion.