Pink velvet evening gown, by Worth, 1900
This silk velvet dress, trimmed with diamante, was worn by Princess Nicholas of Greece. Her grandson, the Duke of Kent, gave it to Sir Cecil Beaton, who was then collecting fashionable dress for his 1971 exhibition, Fashion: An Anthology. As with other evening gowns of the period, its original trimmings were very delicate and have been lost. The petticoat and neck edging have been carefully reconstructed from old photographs of Worth designs.
Charles Frederick Worth (1825–1895) was a celebrated Parisian couture dressmaker. He was born in Bourne, Lincolnshire, and started working at the age of 12 in a draper's shop in London. Eight years later he moved to Paris, where he opened his own fashion house in 1858. He was soon patronised by the Empress Eugenie and her influence was instrumental to his success. His clothes, admired for their elegance and fine workmanship, became an important symbol of social and financial advancement.
Museum no. T.459-1974
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The Pink Bird (Custom print)
The Pink Bird, from the series Six Coloured Birds, by Edward Lear (20 x 25 cm print, Satin Finish)
Buy nowEvent - 1900 Cities: The City at the Turn of the Century, from Paris to New York
Tue 25 September 2012 14:00
SHORT COURSE: The years around 1900 represent one of the most vibrant and exciting periods in the history of art and design, when tradition and modernity collide and when the decadence of the fin de siecle encounters the optimism of a new millennium.
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