Ensemble

House of Balmain|Pierre Balmain

ca. 1950 · wool, silk · Costume Institute

This elegant skirt suit with matching coat belonged to the fashionable and celebrated Jazz musician, performer, and Civil Rights activist Hazel Dorothy Scott (1920–1981). Born in Trinidad, Scott moved to Harlem with her mother at a young age. Discerning and decisive, Scott pushed back against societal restrictions around race. She refused to perform for segregated audiences or to take on reductive roles that hinged upon negative stereotypes, instead utilizing her success as a platform for advocacy and empowerment. After years of performing in New York City, starring in five Hollywood films, and hosting her own television program, Scott moved to Paris briefly during the 1950s. During her time in France, Scott was an enthusiastic patron of haute couture. This ensemble, created by French fashion designer Pierre Balmain, is a dual testament to the cultivated taste of the wearer and the consummate skill of the couturier. A pair of arcing seams, echoed in a half-moon shape above the outer coat front hem, are placed asymmetrically along the chest and peplum of the jacket to lend interest to an otherwise subdued, yet smartly tailored, ensemble.

Artist

House of Balmain|Pierre Balmain

Date

ca. 1950

Medium

wool, silk

Culture

French

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Gift of Janet Mindes, in memory of Hazel Scott, and with thanks to Beryl G. S. Powell, 2019