Terms and conditions of use
- Medium
- cotton (quilted), metal (fastening, eyelet)
- Measurements
- 77.0 cm (centre back) 35.5 cm (waist, flat)
- Place/s of Execution
- France
- Inscription
- label, centre back neckline, woven (vertically) in black on cream polyester: Pierre CARDIN / PARIS NEW YORK
- Accession Number
- 2023.174
- Department
- International Fashion and Textiles
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Krystyna Campbell-Pretty AM and Family through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gift Program, 2023 - Gallery location
- Level 3 foyer
Level 3, NGV International - About this work
-
Pierre Cardin was born to French parents in San Andrea da Barbara, Italy, in 1922. The family returned to France soon after, and at seventeen he served as a tailor’s apprentice before working as a design assistant for Madame Paquin and Elsa Schiaparelli in 1945 and 1946. He later became head of the tailoring workroom at Christian Dior until he established his own couture house in 1950. By 1964 his experiments with ultra-modern designs placed him firmly in fashion’s futurist movement. By the late 1960s, Cardin’s experimentation included unconventional textiles, spherical motifs and innovative use of metal. This micro-mini dress features oversized metal eyelets, revealing the wearer’s body and creating an industrial porthole effect.