Purse
(c. 1915)
- Medium
- sterling silver
- Measurements
- 8.5 × 5.5 × 0.5 cm (closed)
- Place/s of Execution
- England
- Inscription
- punched inside frame u.l.: 925
- Accession Number
- 2018.1589
- Department
- International Fashion and Textiles
- Credit Line
- National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Wendy Mead, 2018
This digital record has been made available on NGV Collection Online through the generous support of Professor AGL Shaw AO Bequest - 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.
