Dress
Augusta Bernard · ca. 1932
Augusta Bernard
- Bias-cut eveningwear
- Fluid draping
Augusta Bernard designed under the combined name Augustabernard, a French couture house documented by The Met as active from 1923 to 1934. Her circa-1932 silk dress offers a concentrated study in graceful drape: fabric crosses the upper body asymmetrically and falls into a long, fluid skirt.
Five looks to know
Collection selection
Dress
ca. 1932
This pale silk dress, dated about 1932, gathers fabric asymmetrically across the upper body and falls into a long, softly moving skirt. The Met credits Augusta Bernard and her house, Augustabernard. The photograph makes drape, proportion and the restrained use of ornament the garment's principal visual features.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Promised Gift of Sandy Schreier
Collection selection
Red velvet bias-cut gown
c. 1932
A sweetheart neckline and long bias-cut skirt display Bernard’s sculptural handling of velvet.
© Museum Associates / LACMA
Archival photograph
Evening gown photographed by Man Ray
Photographed 1936
A period photograph preserves the gown’s draped silhouette.
© Man Ray Trust ARS-ADAGP / J. Paul Getty Museum
Archival photograph
Toto Koopman evening gown
Photographed 1935
Koopman models Augustabernard eveningwear in this fashion photograph.
George Hoyningen-Huene / Christie’s
Collection selection
Evening dress with a plunging back
1933
The Museum at FIT presented this dress in its exhibition exploring fashion and psychoanalysis.
Eileen Costa / The Museum at FITArchive pieces, grouped by date
1 piececa. 1932
1 piece · Season not recorded
About Augusta Bernard
The restrained surface makes the handling of the textile especially visible.
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The Met: Dress