Ensemble

Madame Grès (Germaine Émilie Krebs)

1972 · wool · Costume Institute

Madame Alix Gres' career spanned five decades and throughout them all she excelled in her ability to manipulate fabric and used its innate characteristics to enhance her designs. Although best known for her classically inspired evening gowns consisting of draped and gathered lengths of fabric, she did create some tailored garments. In an ensemble created for Mrs. William Randolph Hearts, Jr., she exercised her love of minimalism through the use of single blocks of strong color. By employing tomato red and deep blue for the coat, blouse, pants, and skirt she focused attention on the clean, modern lines of her design.

Artist

Madame Grès (Germaine Émilie Krebs)

Date

1972

Medium

wool

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. William Randolph Hearst, Jr., 1988