Evening dress
Pierre Balmain · 1953
Pierre Balmain
- Postwar couture
- Embroidered eveningwear
Pierre Balmain opened his own house in 1945 after working with Edward Molyneux and Lucien Lelong. The Met places him among the major designers of the fitted postwar silhouette.
Official house website
Five looks to know
Collection selection
Evening dress
1953
Two scales of floral embroidery cover Balmain's 1953 evening dress: fine trailing flowers and larger open blooms. The Met compares the latter with motifs in glazed tiles and cloisonné enamel. Silk, nylon, metallic embroidery and sequins support a design in which ornament remains concentrated around a clearly shaped body.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Gift of Jean Sinclair Tailer, 1964
Collection selection
Evening dress
1953
This Balmain evening dress from 1953 combines a dark, closely shaped body with pale ornamental areas and dramatic fabric at the sides. The Met records silk and rhinestones. Its discussion places Balmain among the designers who developed the fitted postwar silhouette with particular attention to fine detail.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Brooklyn Museum Costume Collection at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of the Brooklyn Museum, 2009; Gift of Mrs. Oscar Hammerstein II, 1956
Collection selection
Brocéliante
1954 · V&A collection
Brocaded silk satin with metal thread, hand-painted, appliquéd, and trimmed with satin and ribbons, and cotton net and boned corset.
© Victoria and Albert Museum, London
Collection selection
Boston
1957 · V&A collection
©Victoria and Albert Museum, London/Pierre Balmain
Collection selection
Louveciennes
1957 · V&A collection
Printed silk, pleated and boned, with appliqué decoration, net and nylon.
© Victoria and Albert Museum, LondonArchive pieces, grouped by date
2 pieces1953
2 pieces · Season not recorded
Evening dress
Pierre Balmain · 1953
About Pierre Balmain
His 1953 evening dresses in this selection combine tightly organized proportions with elaborate ornament, including floral embroidery, reflective details and carefully balanced dark and pale surfaces.