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LEFT:
Valentino
Coat
Ivory double faced wool; leather and gold chain
Couture, circa 1972, Italy
The Museum at FIT, 79.187.20, Gift of Ethel Scull
MIDDLE:
Valentino
Cocktail dress
White cotton lace, rhinestones, and beads
Circa 1965, Italy
The Museum at FIT, 73.35.12, Gift of Harriet Weiner
RIGHT:
Yves Saint Laurent
Evening tunic and hot pants
Brown organza, sequins and beads
Fall 1969, France
The Museum at FIT, 74.107.8, Gift of Lauren Bacall
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White became one
of Valentino’s hallmarks after the launch of his Collection
blanche in 1968. It is certainly an appropriate color for a
designer who says his fashions are about “creating the scenario
for the grand life.”
The 1960s saw a shift away from the dominance of high fashion to
more youthful, anti-establishment styles, like the miniskirt.
Yet great designers such as Valentino soon gave a more luxurious
spin to youthquake styles. Here, he alternates rhinestones and
rows of lace, a traditional luxury fabric, to create an elegant
yet whimsical “Baby doll” dress.
Saint Laurent’s
tour de force tunic and hot pants are a shimmering modern take
on the chic flapper dress of the 1920s. Hours of labor were
required to hand-sew the beads and sequins onto the tunic, an
investment of time that epitomizes the difference between luxury
fashion and ordinary fashion. | |
