Terms and conditions of use
Mini dress
1967
Medium
metal
Measurements
68.0 cm (centre back) 41.0 cm (waist, flat)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Krystyna Campbell-Pretty and the Campbell-Pretty Family through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2018
Gallery location
Level 3 foyer
Level 3, NGV International
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
Paris, France
Inscription
label, centre back neckline, printed in brown ink on black paper: paco rabanne / paris / Made in France
Accession Number
2018.1598
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
Physical description
Sleeveless mini dress comprised of square and rectangular silver-coloured metal plates joined together by small circular links. Across the bodice, individual plates are decorated with studs dispersed in a chequered pattern.