Ensemble

Vaquera|Claire Sullivan, born Richmond, Virginia, 1993|Bryn Taubensee, born Bloomington, Indiana, 1989|Patric DiCaprio, born Mobile, Alabama, 1990

fall/winter 2017–18 · (a, b) synthetic fiber, (c, d) synthetic suede, acrylic paint · Costume Institute

This "Vaquera & Co." dress, a pastiche of the iconic "Tiffany and Co." blue jewelry pouch, queries what remains of the American Dream in the year 2017. More than half a century after the movie based on Truman Capote's novel Breakfast at Tiffany's came out, the Tiffany blue remains unchanged and evokes nostalgia for the elegance of 1950s America, as personified and embodied by Audrey Hepburn's character Holly Golightly. By appropriating the brand's packaging, logo and name, the New York-based fashion collective Vaquera uses camp humor to comment on contemporary issues like consumption, affluence, branding, identity, nostalgia and the disillusionment of the American Dream.

Artist

Vaquera|Claire Sullivan, born Richmond, Virginia, 1993|Bryn Taubensee, born Bloomington, Indiana, 1989|Patric DiCaprio, born Mobile, Alabama, 1990

Date

fall/winter 2017–18

Medium

(a, b) synthetic fiber, (c, d) synthetic suede, acrylic paint

Culture

American

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Purchase, The Dorothy Strelsin Foundation Inc. Gift, 2019