Evening dress

Valentina

1939 · silk · Costume Institute

Valentina often designed clothing for theater and film stars. This dress was designed for Katharine Cornell who wore it in the Broadway production "No Time for Comedy" in 1939. Cornell, a producer and actress, played leading lady Linda Paige opposite Laurence Olivier. This dress is also an example of Valentina's propensity for designing medieval-inspired evening gowns. Famous for her expert construction, this dress features an elegant use of bias to create drapery, much like another prominent designer of the period, Madeleine Vionnet.

Artist

Valentina

Date

1939

Medium

silk

Culture

American

Department

Costume Institute

Credit line

Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of the Museum of the City of New York, 1964