Babydoll, cocktail dress
1965 {spring-summer 1965–66}
- Medium
- silk (lace, lining), metal (fastenings)
- Measurements
- 76.0 cm (centre back) 38.0 cm (waist, flat)
- Place/s of Execution
- France
- Inscription
- label, left side, woven in black on cream polyester: (triangular sides) BALENCIAGA / 10, AVENUE GEORGE V. PARIS
- Accession Number
- 2023.175
- 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
-
A defining late 50s—60s Balenciaga silhouette, the ‘babydoll’ saw Balenciaga transform the lingerie style into couture avant-garde. Originally made in opaque fabrics, Balenciaga’s Babydoll evolved with the appetite for more youthful and provocative clothing, comprising a fitted slip and lace overdress.
This sculptural Cocktail dress exemplifies Balenciaga’s renegotiation of the relationship between garment and body with its fluted, inverted silhouette. Innovating with cut and construction, he created a lexicon of new silhouettes for women defined by abstraction and soft volume, among them; the chemise, tunic, cocoon, sack and ‘baby-doll’ styles.