APPLIED ART : COSTUME

Evening coat

[Balmain, Pierre] (poss.) (Primary maker)
[Balmain, Pierre] (poss.) ([designer / maker])

1959 circa
1959 circa

design : An apple green satin evening coat, with self coloured taffeta lining, high upstanding white fur collar and fan shaped folds of fabric radiating from centre back. condition : Good. From exhibition text, early 2000s: Satin Coat worn over lace and velvet evening dress, c.1959 The dress by Pierre Balmain (1914-1982) and the coat probably by Balmain. In the 1950s, after the huge success of Christian Dior's elegnat, long, feminine 'New Look,' Paris was the unchallenged centre of world fashion. Pierre Balmain was one of the Parisian couturiers whose names were instantly associated with the glamorous world of haute couture. As was the case with a surprising number of 1950s male couturiers, his original training was in architecture. He opened his fashion house in 1946. His evening wear was unashamedly luxurious. The coat's vivid colour, 'chartreuse', was particularly popular at the time. From exhibition text 'Grand Designers' Pierre Balmain trained as an architect and served in the French Air Force before deciding on a career in fashion. He trained with Molyneux and also the designers Lucien Lelong and Christian Dior. Opneing his own couture house in 1945, Balmain believed that 'nothing is more important in a dress than its construction.' He was a master of the art of creating a strong, slim silhouette and was also responsible for the popularity of the evening stole to complement his ball gowns.

BELUM.T2926

National Museums NI