Geometries
Geometries: The Parallelogram
Halston did much to advance great dressmaking using simple, rectilinear pattern pieces. His
red beaded, silk caftan, which began as a long, parallelogram-shaped piece of fabric, was
folded in half along the bias, forming the shoulder and neckline, and then folded again and
stitched in a straight seam, front and back, to form a kind of envelope. Both this dress and
Halston’s extraordinary tube dress exemplify how the designer adhered to his minimalist
aesthetic, no matter how complicated the pattern.
For the tube dress (left), a single length of hammered silk — also
an elongated parallelogram — was folded on the bias to create a
tube, and then was meticulously stitched along a single seam to
create a spiral effect. Despite the precision required to make
this dress, it has a look of effortlessness.
