Opera coat
(1924-1928)
Medium
silk, silk (velvet), bakelite (fastening), glass (beads)
Measurements
124.0 cm (centre back) 45.0 cm (waist, flat)
Credit Line
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne
Gift of Krystyna Campbell-Pretty AM and Family through the Australian Government’s Cultural Gifts Program, 2024
Gallery location
Not on display
About this work
Designer Paul Poiret led the fashion world in the first decade of the twentieth century. Working first as a private dressmaker, then for Jacques Doucet from 1898 and the House of Worth from 1901–3, Poiret opened his own maison de couture in 1903. Known for his loosely draped and uncorseted dresses as well as his Orientalist designs, Poiret based his works on straight lines and flat construction, as evident in this coat.