Beaded gown for Eartha Kitt
Zelda Wynn Valdes · ca. 1955
Zelda Wynn Valdes
- Tailored eveningwear
- Performance costume
- Body-conscious glamour
Zelda Wynn Valdes opened her New York business, Zelda Wynn, in 1948 after years developing her dressmaking and tailoring skills. Her clients included Josephine Baker and Eartha Kitt.
Five looks to know
Collection selection
Beaded gown for Eartha Kitt
ca. 1955
A one-shoulder silk gown combines bird motifs, seed beads and rhinestones. The separately displayed green shoes are by Beth Levine for Herbert Levine, not Valdes.
Collection of the Smithsonian NMAAHC, Gift of the Black Fashion Museum founded by Lois K. Alexander-Lane
Collection selection
Pink beaded mermaid gown worn by Joyce Bryant
Joyce Bryant performance wardrobe — photographed 1954
Beading follows the close-fitting torso before the pink skirt flares at the knees, illustrating Valdes’s sculpted stage silhouette.
Philippe Halsman, 1954 / © Philippe Halsman Estate 2024, via The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Collection selection
Black gown with white pleated panels — right photograph
Joyce Bryant performance wardrobe — photographed 1953
The right-hand photograph shows a dark, low-cut gown with white pleated side panels, combining a narrow torso with expansive movement below.
Carl Van Vechten, 1953 / courtesy Yale University, via The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Collection selection
Floral dress fitted on Eartha Kitt
Eartha Kitt wardrobe — photographed 1952
Gordon Parks photographed Valdes fitting this floral dress on Eartha Kitt, documenting the relationship between designer, performer and made-to-measure garment.
Gordon Parks, 1952 / Gordon Parks–The LIFE Picture Collection–Shutterstock, via The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Collection selection
Black satin evening gown with beadwork
Date not stated · Date and season not documented
This surviving labeled gown has a peaked neckline and seed-and-bugle-bead decoration, documented by the vintage dealer who recovered it.
Courtesy Very Breezy, via Harper’s BazaarArchive pieces, grouped by date
1 piececa. 1955
1 piece · Season not recorded
About Zelda Wynn Valdes
She led the New York chapter of the National Association of Fashion and Accessories Designers and later designed costumes for Dance Theatre of Harlem.