• This is a gorgeous Couture dress from 1970s Lanvin.
• It was made under the creative direction of Jules-Francois Crahay
• Jules-Francois headed the Lanvin ateliers from 1964-1984. He has been noted as one of fashion’s'great colorists with his colorful patterns making his 1970s Lanvin designs hugely desirable and influential.'His time at the Lanvin label&is one of my personal favourites for the house.
• The dress would have been completely made by hand in the Paris Atelier.
• The fabric is a light weight lace that creates a pretty floral print that covers the dress from head to toe. 
• The bodice of the dress is fantastic. It is cut halter style and you simply slip your head through the opening so that it sits behind the neck. Each halter is cut on a slight curve so even though it is plunged to the band under the bust, it feels very safe when you are wearing it.
• It still has a sexy element though. Each panel is made out of two layers of the lace and the lace is placed to give you coverage so that it can be safely worn.  But you still do see a teeny bit of skin underneath between the more covered lace parts. It is sexy but in a subtle way that is very clever.
• I love that the halter front leaves the entire upper back left bare and exposed.
• A wide 4.5" band wraps around the waist starting just under the bust and at the centre it peaks downwards to be a full 8 inches wide. It is made in the same way as the halter top with two layers of lace so that it also has a slight bit of transparency through the layers.
• The skirt falls to the floor from there widening out as it nears the hem.
  
• Inside everything has been done by hand to Couture standards.
• The panels at the front, as well as the band around the waist, are made of two layers of the lace as described above. The skirt is fully lined in a matching coloured silky rayon. It closes at the back with a hand set zipper. All of the inner seams are done by hand. The skirt was let down at some point and you can see a very faint line on the lining of where it was turned under. The outer layer of lace has a small turned under hem and the edge of the inner lining is raw. It has been left as found for the added length.
• There are no size tags present since it is Couture so please go by the listed measurements below. 
• Excellent condition

Bust: each triangle covers 8.5" flat across from side to side
Seam under the bust: to 15" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: to 14" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 23" flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: approx 11.5" from neck to seam under the bust
Total length: 60" from neck to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML

Item# DD5752

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 was Look 38 for the Fall 2007 Nina Ricci presentation
• It was made under the creative direction of Olivier Theyskens
  
• The dress is wonderfully documented. It was photoed for Vogue that season and is seen in the book "She Walks in Beauty".  Kiera also wore one for an editorial that season
• The strapless ball gown is something that is a signature of Olivier and that combined with this striking antique feeling silk brocade fabric in its beautiful slightly metallic yellow colour make this a stand out of the collection. It was the second to last look of the finale.
• The dress is made out of a heavy yellow silk brocade that has a remarkable and slightly metallic feel to parts of the fabric. It has the feel of an antique fabric and is absolutely incredible. It is rare now to see fabric at this level of quality.
• This fabric choice is really what allowed him to manipulate and create the sculptural seams that the dress has.
• The strapless bodice is meant to be fitted and there is a full built-in inner corset that holds the dress in place around you. The fabric is shaped over the bodice and gathered down towards one side of the waist. An attached wide band of the same fabric circles around your waist. The back scoops down to leave your upper back bare and exposed. The dress has been mainly finished by hand and it is finished to an extraordinary level.
• It skims over the hips and the skirt has elaborate draping to create the feel that you see in the photos. There is a full panel that sweep across and around the hips to fall down and over one side of the skirt and then that trails out behind you.
• You can only imagine that for this one he personally placed in each drape by hand to get the shape that he wished it to have.
• The skirt that is set underneath the swag of silk brocade down one side is extraordinary full. I love the way the fabric has been manipulated to fall around you and then starts at the sides to become very wide and full as it sweeps around to the back. As it curves around you it becomes a striking train at the back that sweeps out behind you. Panels have been added in and under at the back to give even more fullness.
  
• This is a phenomenal piece from his tenure at the Nina Ricci label and is extremely rare. I would be shocked if there are more than one or two examples other than this one in existence. The amount of hand work in the dress tells me that this was definitely a custom-made piece and made-to-order. It is on par with true Haute Couture. 
• The dress closes with a hidden side set zipper. It has a full structural inner corset that is cut and boned with an inner waist stay that hooks to close. The fabric that sits closest to your body is embossed with a Nina Ricci name. This inner corset runs all the way down to the top of the hip. The rest of the dress is lined in that same embossed silk as the inner bodice and there's an additional heavy lining of a woven muslin between that and the skirt. Hand finishes throughout. 
• The dress has no size tag present. Please go by the listed measurements below.
• Excellent condition

Bust: 17-18" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 15" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 21.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: approx 9" from top of bodice to waist
Total length: 57" from top of bodice to shortest part of the front hem and then the back extends another 17" past that. There is approximately 3.5" turned under the ham

Modern Sizing Equivalent: MED-LRG

Item# DD5751

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.

• This set is from the early to mid-seventies and comes directly from the Client, who got it from Gres atelier
• It was made under the creative direction of Madame Gres.
• Gres' work has had profound effects on Haute Couture and her influence still resonates to this day. Her attention to detail, master draping techniques and respect for the female form is unparalleled.
• She was known for designing and creating garments directly on her models and this became a signature of her work.
• She opened her first atelier, La Maison Alix in 1932. A partnership briefly changed the house's name to Alix Barton and then the label went to simply Alix. In 1942 she married, and the label made its last change to became Madame Gres, which was a partial anagram of Serge, her husband's first name.
• Her work spans over five full decades with the vast majority of it, with the exception of a short-lived RTW line begun in 1980, dedicated solely to creating Haute Couture. She is one of the greatest couturiers of our time and her pieces are very rare and hard to find.
• This is an amazing vintage true Haute Couture set. 
• I love the camel coloured wide legged jersey pants with their wide cut legs. The jersey they are made out of is the soft wool that she used extensively during this time period and it has a soft finish to it that looks and feels heavenly once on.
• The pants are banded at the top with a wide gathered sash of a pale yellow jersey for contrast to the camel colour below. This hooks to the one side and there is built-in boning at the sides to hold its shape around the waist. It is a touch wider on one side then the other to create a pretty curve. The pants fall to the floor and widen out to be 64" around at each hem.
• The top has a metallic finish to it. The silk has actual metal thread woven through it and this gives it a subtle glint from all angles. A design runs through the silk and the metal thread is woven onto that in a floral design.
• The neckline is scooped and it skims over you to the waist. The sleeves are long and simple.
• It ties into place at the back with ties made of the same fabric. These sit on an angle that starts at the neckline, run across to one side and then go straight down to the hem of the top. This leaves a little bare expanse of skin showing between the ties.
• I photoed the top both un-tucked and tucked as it can be worn either way.
• Both pieces have a Haute Couture label in them and the top has an additional handwritten numbered tag inside.
• This is an incredible and rare opportunity to own a beautiful piece of her work and it is that much more versatile with the two pieces since you can mix and match with pieces from your exiting wardrobe.
• Both pieces are unlined and have been completely finished by hand. The pants close with hook and eye at the band and a zipper under that. There is a minor repair to the jersey inside the inner structure of the band and then one of the fold along one side. Both only show internally. The top ties to close at the back.
• There is no size tag present because it is true Couture. Please go by the measurements listed below.
• Excellent condition

Top
Sleeves: 21"
Shoulders: 14"
Bust: 17" flat across from side seam to side seam
Bottom seam: approx 12-13" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 12" from shoulder to hem

Pants
Waist: 12" at top of band and narrows to 11.5" flat across from side seam to side seam of true waist with room in the seams available to let out a bit if needed.
Band: 3.5" high on the boned hook closure side and the other side widens to approx 9"
Hips: open
Length: 40" from true waist to hem
Inseam: 29"
Rise: 15" from true waist to inner seam

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML

Item# DD5750

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.