Evening dress
Medium
silk, rhinestones
Classification
Evening dress
Culture
French
Department
Costume Institute
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of the Princess Viggo in accordance with the wishes of the Misses Hewitt, 1931
Accession Number
2009.300.1099a, b
Tags
Art Historical Context
This exquisite evening dress from 1898, designed by Jean-Philippe Worth for the renowned House of Worth, exemplifies the pinnacle of French haute couture during the Bellepoque. Crafted from luxurious silk and adorned with sparkling rhinestones, it was created for the elite women of high society, who frequented Paris's glittering social scene. The House of Worth, founded by Charles Frederick Worth, revolutionized fashion by introducing made-to-measure garments with innovative draping and embellishments, earning the title "father of haute couture." The dress's playful cherry motifs—likely embro...