Evening coat

Madame Grès (Germaine Émilie Krebs)

1935 · metal thread · Costume Institute

Grès's syncretistic Mughal jacket combines aspects of many cultures. The rows of quilting at the jacket's back that are patterned like Manchu court robes are stitched by machine, but the fields of blistered trapunto that incorporate birds in foliage are stitched by hand. The tailored components are juxtaposed against a shawl collar which is an unstructured, puffed band that resembles a small ruffle. The body of the jacket is a continuous piece, suspended from a back shoulder yoke in a seamless riddle that conflates East and West.

Artist

Madame Grès (Germaine Émilie Krebs)

Date

1935

Medium

metal thread

Culture

French

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Gift of Miss Ellerbe Woods, 1940