{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O133562"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O133562/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2026PM9478/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2026PM9478/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"low","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2026PM9478","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2026PM8972","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2026PM8971","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006BK4762","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006BK4763","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006BK4761","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2006BK4764","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":null},"record":{"systemNumber":"O133562","accessionNumber":"T.49-1965","objectType":"Evening dress","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"","physicalDescription":"Strapless evening dress of black silk jersey, ruched and gathered from top to bottom. Ankle length. Metal zipper in the front, over pelvic area, vestigal tail and 'spine' formed by ruching down the front of the dress. Shaped strapless top with a boned black silk foundation. The bodice fastens at the centre back with hooks and eyes, and the skirt hooks up to the bodice on the right hand side of the front.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Elsa Schiaparelli","id":"A2375"},"association":{"text":"designer","id":"x36960"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"silk jersey","id":"x30419"}],"techniques":[{"text":"sewing","id":"AAT53658"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Silk jersey, boned, metal","categories":[{"text":"Fashion","id":"THES48957"},{"text":"Womenswear","id":"THES49044"},{"text":"Evening wear","id":"THES48999"},{"text":"Textiles","id":"THES48885"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&F","id":"THES48601"},"images":["2026PM9478","2026PM8972","2026PM8971","2006BK4762","2006BK4763","2006BK4761","2006BK4764"],"imageResolution":"low","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"SAINS","id":"THES276095"},"free":"","case":"FIG041","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Evening dress","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Paris","id":"x29068"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1949","earliest":"1949-01-01","latest":"1949-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by Madame Elsa Schiaparelli","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Circumference","value":"680","unit":"mm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"15/07/2025","earliest":"2025-07-15","latest":"2025-07-15"},"part":"waistband","note":"Measured by textile conservation"},{"dimension":"Length","value":"1260","unit":"mm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"15/07/2025","earliest":"2025-07-15","latest":"2025-07-15"},"part":"Top bustline to hem tip in front","note":"Measured by textile conservation"}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[{"content":"Printed Schiaparelli label","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"Stitched inside the centre front"},{"content":"'16,471'","inscriber":{"name":{"text":"","id":""},"association":{"text":"","id":""}},"date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"description":"","interpretation":"","language":"","medium":"","method":"","position":"","script":"","translation":"","transliteration":"","type":"","note":"Written in blue on a tape on the back"}],"objectHistory":"Elsa Schiaparelli (1890–1973) was one of the world’s revolutionary fashion designers. Her couture house, one of the most discussed of interwar Paris, redefined fashionable taste and perceptions of beauty in the 20th century.  With no formal training, she launched her first fashion collection in 1927. Her bold, often audacious, haute couture creations soon made her the designer of choice for a confident clientele. Within five years, Maison Schiaparelli employed 400 staff who created over 7000 couture garments each year.  \r\n\r\nOften designing to confront and shock, Schiaparelli’s radical approach embraced the new and experimental, resulting in clothes that were resolutely modern. Perhaps more than any fashion designer of the era, Schiaparelli urged textile manufacturers to bring her their newest and best materials. At the same time, Schiaparelli’s impact extended beyond fashion and she possessed a vibrant artistic sensibility. Embedded within Europe’s creative avantgarde, she positioned her work in direct dialogue with art, design and performance. Her collaborations with artists, including Salvador Dalí, Jean Cocteau and Meret Oppenheim, led to some of her most radical and memorable designs for clothing, accessories and jewellery. In 1954, Schiaparelli officially retired and closed the doors of her couture salon. She left an enduring mark on the world of fashion and a creative legacy that spanned the cities of Paris, London and New York.  \r\n\r\nPhoto The Surreal Body, pg. 81 \r\nThe dress has a spine which starts at the CF zipper and extends to hem\r\n\tPhoto Notes: \r\n\tBodice front: exposed zipper in the front turns into the spine.  \r\n\tSkirt Front: shows fabric shirred on central cord.\r\n\tLabel: French label\r\n\tSpine edge front: resembles stingray \r\n\tBodice back: wraps around \r\n\tBodice open:  bodice semi attached to the skirt.\r\n\n\nJan G. Reeder, Curator, The Costume Institute, The Metropolitan Museum of Art\r\nTaken May, 2011, Compiled September, 2011\r\n","historicalContext":"This dress is very similar to Schiaparelli's 1949 design, \"Forbidden Fruit\". See illustration in Blum, p.273, which shows the same use of ruching/straplessness, and also the distinctive pelvic zipper. Although acquired as 1945, 1949 is probably the more realistic date.\r\n\r\n- Daniel Milford-Cottam\r\n<b>Bibilography</b>\r\n<br>\r\nBlum, Dilys E. <i>Shocking! The Art and Fashion of Elsa Schiaparelli</i>, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 2003","briefDescription":"Strapless evening dress of silk jersey, designed by Elsa Schiaparelli, Paris, ca. 1949","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"Acquired as 1945, but is probably 1949. See history section\n\nReason For Production: Commission","productionType":{"text":"Haute couture","id":"THES48861"},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[],"partNumbers":["T.49-1965"],"accessionNumberNum":"49","accessionNumberPrefix":"T","accessionYear":1965,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-06-02","recordCreationDate":"2007-03-30","availableToBook":false}}