Evening bodice

Jean-Philippe Worth|House of Worth

spring/summer 1897 · silk, metal, cotton · Costume Institute

The use of ribbon as a major structural element in this bodice is inventive and effective. The elegant blue stamp on the petersham was used between 1897 and 1903 as a method of marking exports and assisting in combating piracy. Jean-Philippe Worth began as an assistant to his father, Charles Frederick Worth, in 1875. Gradually he was allowed to create his own designs and when his father died in 1895, he became the lead designer for the house. He was praised for making elaborate artistic gowns with intricate trimmings on unique textiles, much like his father had before him. Although the House of Worth was still favored by royalty and celebrities through the turn of the century, their styles were no longer the forefront of French fashion after 1900. Around 1910 Jean-Philippe limited his design work to important orders and hired his nephew, Jean-Charles Worth, as the new lead designer before leaving the company entirely after World War I.

Artist

Jean-Philippe Worth|House of Worth

Date

spring/summer 1897

Medium

silk, metal, cotton

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. Frederick H. Prince, Jr., 1967