"Carnival Dress"

Madeleine Vionnet

fall/winter 1936–37 · silk · Costume Institute

The skirt of this ensemble references crinolines of the 1850s and 1860s. Traditionally made out of wired hoops connected by canvas tapes, crinolines were worn under a skirt to give it a fashionable bell-shaped volume. In an early example of underwear as outerwear, however, Vionnet has exposed the crinolines to create dresses of remarkable beauty and sensuality. Made out of tulle, they appear as fragile and diaphanous as a Portuguese 'man-of-war'.

Artist

Madeleine Vionnet

Date

fall/winter 1936–37

Medium

silk

Culture

French

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Gift of Mrs. Harrison Williams, 1952