Coat

Romeo Gigli

fall/winter 1991–92 · polyester · Costume Institute

The draped cocoon coat is the most emblematic design of Romeo Gigli, the Italian designer who introduced Orientalist notions and romantic shapes into the hard-bodied fashion lexicon of the late 1980s, thereby creating a new, more ethereal sensibility for the 1990s which gained momentum later in the decade with designers such as Alexander McQueen and John Galliano. In this garment, we see echoes of Paul Poiret's Orientalist cocoon capes combined with pleated synthetic fabrics manipulated by heat. The star-shaped patterns in the main body of the coat underline a romantic, dreamy sensibility.

Artist

Romeo Gigli

Date

fall/winter 1991–92

Medium

polyester

Culture

Italian

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Catharine Breyer Van Bomel Foundation Fund, 2018