Evening dress

Madame Grès (Germaine Émilie Krebs)

ca. 1968 · silk · Costume Institute

Madame Alix Grès' career spanned five decades and throughout she excelled in the ability to manipulate fabric and use its innate characteristics to enhance her designs. She introduced her classically inspired evening gowns in the 1930s, using drapable silk jersey to create the body-skimming form. She would return to that form again and again, constantly reviving and renewing its shape. Here the soft gathers of the 1930s have evolved into tight, disciplined pleats in the 1960s. Gres lets the razor-thin pleats of the bodice flow into a beautiful arrangement of scallops along the neckline, giving the piece a timeless, sculptural appearance.

Artist

Madame Grès (Germaine Émilie Krebs)

Date

ca. 1968

Medium

silk

Culture

French

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mrs. Douglas Auchincloss, 1985