This week marks the 146th anniversary of Madeline Vionnet’s birthday, 22 June 1876. (Happy belated birthday, Madeleine!) Despite being absent from popular culture now, she is one of the most influential designers of the twentieth century. (And I am trying to change that- more Vionnet!!) With all of us finally starting to attend more events, I wanted to look to formal wear. This Vionnet evening gown is one of the most beautiful I’ve seen, and would still be perfect today. Onto this week’s Style Bite…
Vionnet and the Bias Cut
Madeleine Vionnet made considerable contributions to fashion in the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. The House of Vionnet was known for sumptuous evening wear, and the bias cut in particular. The bias cut is defined as “(of a garment or fabric) cut obliquely or diagonally across the grain”, and creates a fluid and flowing drape of the fabric. The bias cut is difficult to master, and a lot of designers never come close to it.
Want to learn more about Madeleine Vionnet? You can find my Style History here!
Photographer for the Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
1932 Madeleine Vionnet Evening Dress
While Vionnet’s shop opened just before the First World War and closed for the war, it reopened after the war and wasn’t particularly successful in the 1920s. The House of Vionnet really hit its stride in the 1930s, though and you can see why with this gown. Stars like Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, and Joan Crawford all favoured Vionnet’s designs, understandably so.
What do you think of this Vionnet evening gown?
Cheers,
The Historian
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