2007
PRADA
Dress
Autumn/winter 2007–8
Prada, Italian, founded 1913
Black wool cloque embroidered with black plastic fringe and feathers
Gift of PRADA, 2017 (2017.200.2a)
1964
CRISTÓBAL BALENCIAGA
Dress
1964
Cristóbal Balenciaga, Spanish, 1895–1972
Black silk matelassé organza trimmed with black ostrich feathers
Gift of Baroness Philippe de Rothschild, 1973 (1973.21.9)
Miuccia Prada’s reputation as a minimalist is due in part to her revolutionary use of black industrial nylon for womenswear and accessories beginning in the 1990s. Her interest in unusual materials continued through the 2000s, though her aesthetic shifted toward discordant combinations of fabric and pattern. This dress is made of a changeable black wool fabric that transforms from a gabardine at the bodice to a puckered cloque at the skirt. A capelike addition of black plastic fringe and feathers is stitched to the shoulder and back.
Cristóbal Balenciaga’s experiments with featherwork aligned with the vogue for exoticism in the 1960s. This transformative shift dress of crinkled silk organza from 1964 is covered entirely with ostrich feathers, stripped to individual filaments and applied in a layer of down on the surface. In later designs, Balenciaga anchored the feathers upward and against the grain, creating a buoyant effect animated by the movements of the wearer.
Cristóbal Balenciaga’s experiments with featherwork aligned with the vogue for exoticism in the 1960s. This transformative shift dress of crinkled silk organza from 1964 is covered entirely with ostrich feathers, stripped to individual filaments and applied in a layer of down on the surface. In later designs, Balenciaga anchored the feathers upward and against the grain, creating a buoyant effect animated by the movements of the wearer.