Purse
(c. 1915)
Medium
sterling silver
Measurements
8.5 × 5.5 × 0.5 cm (closed)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Wendy Mead, 2018
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
Paco Rabanne revolutionised fashion in the late 1960s through his use of unconventional materials. His futuristic and liberated designs challenged haute couture conventions, reflecting the mindset of the Youthquake sociocultural movement. During the Spanish Civil War (1936–39) Rabanne fled the country with his mother, a former chief seamstress at Balenciaga, resettling in Paris. There, after first studying architecture, Rabanne produced small ranges of costume jewellery for Givenchy, Dior and Balenciaga before presenting his first fashion collection in 1964. Rabanne’s innovative approach is encapsulated by this mini dress, which features no stitched seams and is instead joined together by hundreds of small metal rings.
Artwork Details
Place/s of Execution
England
Inscription
punched inside frame u.l.: 925
Accession Number
2018.1589
Department
International Fashion and Textiles
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Professor AGL Shaw AO Bequest