Evening shawl

Madeleine Vionnet

ca. 1925 · silk · Costume Institute

The fringed shawl was a fashion mainstay of the 1920s. In Madeleine Vionnet's hands it receives the benefit of her impressive technical skill. The weight and drapable quality of silk jersey lends itself to the fitted shoulders and interior shaping at the armholes without losing its fluidity. The shawl is cut in an irregular length, which adds to its refinement. The tomato red color is made even more dramatic by the varied placement of the fringe, which is hand-knotted through the fabric. By staggering the fringe knots, Vionnet creates subtle surface decoration along with a sense of movement, the fringe seems to spill out from the surface plane of the fabric.

Artist

Madeleine Vionnet

Date

ca. 1925

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. Gerald F. Warburg, 1980