1980-82 Ruffled Halston Spiral Dress in Royal Blue Silk

For the Resort 1980 show Halston debuted the ruffle. In the book "Halston, An American Original" It is noted that " this was somewhat of a departure for him, but one that offered him an engineering challenge". Others were doing the ruffle and Halston was "determined to find a way to do it better". By 1980 ruffles were shown in their full glory and WWD even nicknamed Halston "Mr. Ruffle". Ruffles were everywhere between that collection and 1982 and silks and silk organza's were his fabric of choice for both their delicacy and lightness, but also their ability to hold and create the shapes he desired. In the photo attached he is seen with a bevy of models, one wearing what appears to be the longer version of this midi-dress and you can see how wonderfully it sits when on a real body.

This dress is stunning. Made of a deep vivid royal blue that is deeper and more rich in person then how it photoed. The construction is amazing - the ruffles are overlapped and they wind and curve around the body in a spiral. Not pieced together but each a long independent curved cut panel of fabric attached on a curve to the base silk.. Technically this is very difficult and uses an extreme amount of fabric. It would be cost prohibitive to try to replicate this today. The angle of the neckline follows the swoop of the curves giving it the feel of one of his signature one shoulder pieces but in this case one shoulder is held up by a tiny silk strap and the other other is a top of a tier. Once on the body it falls into place and creates the astonishing cascade that somehow managed to combine volume and length at the same time. It is a work of art and a testament to the genius of Halston. Excellent condition

Unlined with hand finished interior seams. It is bias cut and slips over the head to wear with no closures. The bias cut allows for a wide variety of sizes as it drapes and falls into place once on so it will work on a larger range of sizes and will just come up in length if you are larger and fall lower if smaller. The color is deeper in person.

Bust: 17.5-19" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 16-19" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 18-23" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 46" from shoulder to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-LRG

Item# DD2544

This garment has been professionally cleaned, pressed and is odor free. Thoroughly checked over before shipping, it will be ready to wear upon arrival.