• This dress is from the Pre-Fall 2025 Valentino collection.
• In 2015 Valentino was headed by both Maria Grazia Chiuri and PierPaolo Piccioli. 
• Vogue said that "Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli signed up the British textile designer Celia Birtwell, the ex-wife of the late Ossie Clark and the woman behind his floral prints in the 1970s, as well as the Italian pop artist Giosetta Fioroni as collaborators this season." In the collection the butterfly print was seen in several pieces.
• Other pieces made out of the butterfly print were worn to events that fall and we include the reference photos here just to have an added point of provenance on the print.
• This is one of my favourite Valentino dresses I have had and it is even better in real life.
• The dress is made out of a beautiful lightweight silk that has a blue and black tone-on-tone butterfly print that covers its entire surface. 
• The butterflies in the print are large and varied. They are set so that they overlap each other to create a beautiful design over the entire dress.
• The shoulders are soft and the sleeves are cut fairly straight all the way down to their cuffs.
• The neckline is set high and long ties extend out at the back. I have tied it in a bow behind the neck but you could also wrap it around to the front if you wished and have the ties hanging or wrap it multiple times to create a wider neckline.
• The dress skims over the bust and drapes easily over the body to the waist. The waist is cut slightly more on the generous side. You could belt it if you wanted to add more shape.
• The skirt falls from there with closed pleat work wrapping around the upper hip. These open up from there and the skirt expands outwards all the way to the hem.
• The excessive amount of fabric used through the skirt give it a ton of movement when you walk and move. 
  
• The lightness of the silk and the way that it lays over the body allows it to move spectacularly over you and pick up the slightest bit of air as you move. It really is even more stunning in person.
• The dress is unlined and closes with a hidden set back zipper. The tie at the neck is attached. Each cuff closes with a small button. The dress has its original tags still attached and was never worn.
• Tagged a vintage Valentino 40
• Excellent condition

Sleeves: 24.5" from the shoulder and they are 10' around the upper arm
Shoulders: 14.5"
Bust: to 16-17" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: to 14" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 20" flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: 15" from neck to waist 
Total length: 62.5" from neck to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML

Item# DD5698

Reference Photos: (1) Kozue Akimoto during FW 2015 Paris Fashion Week by Style Du Monde.  /  (2) Angela Simmons in Valentino, October 2015.  /  (3-4) Pre-Fall 2015 Valentino, Looks 34 & 39.

All items are thoroughly checked over before shipping. Unless noted everything in our shop has been professionally cleaned. All sales are final. Overseas clients will be emailed to obtain agreement to our final sales policy before the order is shipped as per our return policy.

• Note that due to new regulations this set can only ship to a Canadian address. If you need further assistance on this please get in touch. 
• The twin of this dress was Look 28 for the Resort 2008 Nina Ricci presentation
• It was made under the creative direction of Olivier Theyskens
  
• I love that we have runway reference photos and you can see how beautiful it is on Chanel Iman. It is a highly collectible piece and is a very special dress from the Olivier Theyskens era at Nina Ricci.
• In Vogue's review they stated that "What makes Olivier Theyskens such a compelling designer is the way his collections tend to riff on and grow from what came before. For resort the ex-Rochas front man continued to explore things he established at his first Nina Ricci show in March. There were more of the twisting around the body evening dresses... he pieced spirals together with patchworks of fabric for an elegant and ultimately more subtle effect than the ones produced by his fantastical fall creations." The said that the collection was "romantic, and rebellious at once, not unlike Theyskens himself."
• The dress is completely cut on the bias and you just slip it on to wear. It drapes over the body in a way that highlights your curves and yet is not tight fitting anywhere.
• Panels in both a black and a deep blue are set vertically on angles over the entire length of the body. The cut has a strong nod to the bias cut couture pieces from the 1920s and 1930s.
• Both the front and back are set in a V at the neckline for a bit of skin to offset the use of the fabric through the rest of the dress.
• The dress skims beautifully over the bust, waist and hips. Once past the hip area the lower skirt begins to flare out dramatically.
• The back is cut to sweep around and out behind you. Yard and yards of bias cut fabric make up the lower skirt and train. This creates the most beautiful movement around you as you move. Even in the still photos from the runway you get the feel of motion in the way the dress falls over the body.
• The very top of each shoulder has been finished with hand dyed black feathers. These are handset over the top of the arm to fall delicate over the top of your shoulders and upper arm. I love the extra drama and movement that the feathers create.
• This is a spectacular and rare dress from his time at the label. All of his work is highly collectible.
• The dress is unlined with hand finishes throughout. The dress is in its original uncut length. It has no closures and simply slips onto wear. The bias cut gives it lots of room through the body so it should fit a variety of sizes. On a smaller frame it will just drape more. I have put the comfortable range of measurements below. I see some light scuffing on the fabric. Very minor. Please see the photo after the label shot.
• Tagged a vintage Nina Ricci 40.
• Excellent condition

Bust: 16-20" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 13-18" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 16-21" flat across from side seam to side seam
Total length: 67" from top of shoulder to the shortest part of the front hem and the back extends another 19" beyond that. 

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-LRG

Item# DD5697

Reference Photo: Resort 2008 Nina Ricci Runway. Look 28. Model Chanel Iman.

All items are thoroughly checked over before shipping. Unless noted everything in our shop has been professionally cleaned. All sales are final. Overseas clients will be emailed to obtain agreement to our final sales policy before the order is shipped as per our return policy.

• The twin of this dress walked the runway for the Fall 1986 collection.
• It was made under the creative direction of Karl Lagerfeld.
• The reference photos and video of the dress on the runway showcase just how amazing the dress is on.
• I have also included a reference photo of Bella Hadid who famously wore a white and black version of the dress in 2022.
• The dress is made out of a beautiful blue silk that has a gold metallic stripe running through it. This gives the dress the structure to hold the shape while keeping it light-in-weight once on. The all blue portion of the skirt between the bodice and hem is made out of a netted fabric.
• The bodice is strapless and there is built-in inner boning for support. The boning continues down the sides and to the lower seam. 
• Soft horizontal gathers are set over the full length of the bodice and I love how this creates extra visual interest with the gold stripes.
• The waist curves in and then curves back out over the top of the hips. 
• The skirt falls from there with a pretty fullness. The upper portion of the top layer of the skirt is made of the netting and then there is a 12' band of the striped silk around the lower part of the skirt
• That top layers sits over a second layer of netting underneath and then there is a blue silk layer under that.
• I love that they have folded that bottom panel of silk under so it is completely backed by the same silk inside. It adds a bit of extra structure and helps to hold the shape of the skirt.
• The striped silk that finishes the bottom hem perfectly ties the components of the dress together. The silk on the bottom panel is set with the stripes on an angle and you will notice that the sleeves have also been set on an angle while the bodice is horizontal. It is the small details that are so spectacular in Karl's Chanel.
• At the back of the bodice there is a tightly spaced row of gold metal Chanel buttons that have little Chanel perfume bottles engraved into them. There are twelve in total.
• The sleeves are incredible. They are separate pieces from the dress. To wear them you slip them over your arm. They have stiffened tulle inside the part that puffs out which helps to hold that shape with a more fitted sleeve underneath that runs down your arm. Each sleeve ends in a point to cover the top of your hand.
  
• This is a spectacular and rare piece of Chanel history.
• The bodice of the dress is lined in a deep blue silk and the skirt is lined as described above. It closes with a back set zipper underneath the row of gold metal buttons embossed with a Chanel perfume bottle. There is an extra spare button sewn into the lining inside. The sleeves have tulle inside to help hold the shape and elastic on the upper arm while the lower cuff zips to close.
• Tagged a vintage Chanel 38
• Excellent condition

Sleeves: approx 30" long. The elastic at the top will stretch to fit around the upper arm
Bust: to 17" flat across from side seam to side seam
Natural waist: 13" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips at inner lining: to 21.5"flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: 13" from top of the bodice to the seam
Total length: 52" from top of the bodice to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD5696

Reference Photos/Video: (1-3) Fall 1986 Chanel Runway.  /  (4-5) Bella Hadid in Fall 1986 Chanel, Cannes, 2022.

All items are thoroughly checked over before shipping. Unless noted everything in our shop has been professionally cleaned. All sales are final. Overseas clients will be emailed to obtain agreement to our final sales policy before the order is shipped as per our return policy.