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1994
JOHN GALLIANO

Dress

1994
John Galliano, British, born Gibraltar, 1960
Black silk satin and crepe
Gift of Estate of Jean Stein, 2017 (2017.690.2)



1934
AMERICAN

Evening Dress

American, ca. 1934
Black silk satin and crepe
Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mrs. Frederick H. Prince, Jr., 1967 (2009.300.7546)

The 1990s witnessed the popularity of the slip dress, a figure-hugging sheath with spaghetti straps evocative of lingerie. A nostalgic and seductive fashion statement, it was embraced by minimalist designers who rejected 1980s ostentation. John Galliano favored the design for its allure and romantic sensuality. Here, he has integrated the notion of a slip dress into a 1930s-inspired bias-cut design. Constructed to reveal both sides of a satin-backed crepe, the dress is composed of interlocking geometric panels—cut both on the grain and on the bias—that create an origami of sensuous shapes

This evening dress of black silk satin and crepe epitomizes the fluid bias-cut designs fashionable in the 1930s. The natural elasticity of the bias fabric creates fullness at the neckline and the bust and loose folds around the legs, accommodating the contours and movement of the body with minimal shaping. The skirt’s chevron-shaped panels of alternating glossy silk satin and matte silk crepe predict the geometric piecing and surface effects of Galliano’s 1990s rendition.