{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O142307"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O142307/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2025PD5372/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2025PD5372/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2025PD5372","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PD5331","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PD5408","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PD5407","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PD5373","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PD5341","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2025PD5340","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2013GA0558","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O142307/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O142307","accessionNumber":"T.231&A-1964","objectType":"Evening dress","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"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.  \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.\n\nThis evening dress and matching bolero were part of Schiaparelli's Summer 1939, Bustle collection.\r\n","physicalDescription":"Evening dress and bolero of pink and black striped silk satin and moiré silk.\n\nSleeveless and backless dress in black silk satin with horizontal black moiré and deep pink silk stripes. The slim skirted dress has a bustle drapery in the back. Full length dress with a low neck, rounded at the front and dipping to a wide 'V' at the back. Zip under each arm.\n\nThe bolero has puff sleeves and rounded front facings. It ends above the waist. It has an angular and plain turn down collar and short sleeves with padded and slightly gathered shoulders. Lined with black silk.","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Elsa Schiaparelli","id":"A2375"},"association":{"text":"designer","id":"x36960"},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"silk (textile)","id":"AAT243428"}],"techniques":[{"text":"weaving","id":"AAT53642"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Silk satin and moiré silk, padded, lined with silk","categories":[{"text":"Fashion","id":"THES48957"},{"text":"Evening wear","id":"THES48999"},{"text":"Womenswear","id":"THES49044"},{"text":"Formal wear","id":"THES48950"},{"text":"Textiles","id":"THES48885"}],"styles":[],"collectionCode":{"text":"T&F","id":"THES48601"},"images":["2025PD5372","2025PD5331","2025PD5408","2025PD5407","2025PD5373","2025PD5341","2025PD5340","2013GA0558"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"SAINS","id":"THES276095"},"free":"","case":"FIG052","shelf":"","box":""},{"current":{"text":"011","id":"THES309280"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Dress","id":""}],[{"text":"Jacket","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""},{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"London","id":"x28980"},"association":{"text":"retailed","id":"x30772"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"1939","earliest":"1939-01-01","latest":"1939-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":"Summer 1939"}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Given by Hon. Mrs H. Sherek","dimensions":[],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"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 of dress with two others taken by Francois Keller on  page 201 of  D. Blum Shocking\r\nDress designed for the charity ball given to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Eiffel Tower\r\nPhoto Notes:\t\r\nEvening dress back: Exposed metal zippers on either side \r\nFabric is black moire/ black satin/pink faille stripe \r\n\t\r\nShoulder: jacket sleeve is hand sewn\r\n\t\r\nJan G. Reeder, Curator, The Costume Institute, The Metropolitan Museum of Art\r\nTaken May, 2011, Compiled September, 2011\r\n\r\n","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Evening dress and bolero of silk satin and moiré silk, designed by Elsa Schiaparelli, retailed in London,. Summer 1939","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"Haute couture","id":"THES48861"},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"<i><b>Schiaparelli: Fashion Becomes Art </b></i><b>(March - November 2026)</b>\n\nLooking back to fashion’s past \n\r\nSchiaparelli’s Summer 1939 season is often posthumously referred to as the Bustle collection, suggestive of the 19th-century padded undergarment by the same name. It included evening dresses like this, with a fullness at the small of the back. The collection’s nostalgic designs contrasted with the dark political undercurrents that were drawing Europe closer to war.\n\nElsa Schiaparelli\r\nSummer 1939, Bustle collection\r\nParis\r\nSilk satin, silk moiré\r\nV&amp;A: T.231-1964\r\nGiven by the Honourable Pamela Sherek","date":{"text":"2026","earliest":"2026-01-01","latest":"2026-12-31"}}],"partNumbers":["T.231-1964","T.231A-1964"],"accessionNumberNum":"231","accessionNumberPrefix":"T","accessionYear":1964,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE","Dress","Jacket"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2026-08-04","recordCreationDate":"2007-12-21","availableToBook":false}}