• The twin of this set was Look 10 on the Fall 2003 runway.
• It was made under the creative direction of Tom Ford.
• We have included runway photos and video for you to see how beautifully this moves once on the body. In Vogue's review of the show they said that "This season every major designer is talking about creating a "beauty" strong enough to defy our anxious times. Backstage that was the word Tom Ford used to characterize his Fall collection for Gucci—a collection in which beauty was personified as a power vixen extravagantly armoured to face down a troubled world" The evening pieces were mentioned specifically "For evening, there were gowns constructed with cutout zones of sparkling mesh and frilled bra tops; others snaked to the floor, held in place with complex asymmetric straps crossing the torso and shoulders. If Ford is treading the territory mapped out by Thierry Mugler and Azzedine Alaïa in the ’80s, it’s no surprise. Much of fashion is heading in that direction >anyway, and Ford, after all, bases Gucci’s entire brand proposition on finding new ways of upping the ante on sex season after season."
• This is a dress from one of the most incredible eras of Gucci.
• I love that this dress is the twin of the colour chosen to walk the runway and that it has it's corset belt. The belts were sold separately but this listing is for both pieces together.
• My client who is the original owner, verified that this colour of dress was only sold in a limited amount of Gucci shops and that they were produced in lower quantities, making it a more rare find. These usually do not have the matching corset belt since it was sold separately or they are in the all black colour that was sold and produced in greater quantities for retail.
  
• The dress is made out of a silk blend that allows the silk to stretch and give.
• The fabric is as light as air and that incredible stretch allows it to conform to your every curve and helps to create curves.
• The neckline is meant to sit lower on the chest and it sits wide across the front. You can see that on the runway.
• The sleeves are long and simple so that the seaming detail on the dress can stand out. The silk is gathered up and over the edge of the neckline in soft folds and then below that is the incredible seaming that shapes the dress around the body.
• The seam work that he did for his time at Gucci was an integral part of his design philosophy. The seaming acted like embellishments, shaping the pieces and giving them added detailing.
• The waist is seamed and it curves down and over the hips with insets there to hold and emphasize the shape.
• The skirt falls under that, following the curve of the body with just a slight flare out at the back hem. At the back the seaming curves around from that waist area and curves underneath your bottom. The silk is gathered in along those curved seams to create ruching and there is a panel built inside where they meet just above the hem to give added structure and support. 
• The corset goes over top of that and it is made out of a thick stretch fabric that has an almost neoprene feel to it. It velcros into place at the front and then straps wrap around you and buckle into place to cinch you in.
• This is a true stand out piece from Tom Ford's reign at Gucci and it is also incredibly sexy.
• Unlined and closes at the back with a hidden set zipper. The belt has Velcro at the front and then buckles to close over that. Both pieces appear to have been worn very little if at all. The dress has its inner fabric tag with the Gucci name on it only. The fabric does have stretch and the measurements below are the comfortable range laying flat.
• The belt is tagged a size 40.
• Excellent condition.

Dress
Sleeves: approx 28" and they are 12-15" around the upper arm
Shoulders: no defined seam
Bust: 15-17.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 12-15" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 18-20" flat across from side seam to side seam
Total length: 40" from top of shoulder to front hem, 43" to the back hem

Corset Belt
6" high at its skinniest point and 9" at its widest. It is approx 26-30" end to end 

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-MED

Item# DD5399

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 is a very rare piece of vintage and it is a delight to have it in the shop. It is from the 1988 Spring / Summer "Blanche Dubois" collection. The show had a total of 96 looks in it. My client purchased this right after the show and has had it since. The inspiration for this collection was Tennessee Williams 1947 heroin from the play "A Streetcar Named Desire" combined with the idea of the English country lady. An integral part of the collection were the way that he had the hems of the skirts and some sleeves done. He described then as "blown away" hems. Galliano had given his pattern cutters a book on origami and asked them to incorporate the feel of it into the clothing. He wanted the hems to look as though it had been blown up in the wind hence the name "blown away." Interior buttons and button holes along the hems were added to allow the skirts to achieve the draped bubbled effect that you see here and in the reference photos. The collection was critically acclaimed and it was his most commercially successful to date. US Vogue noted that he went from fashion cult to pacesetter with this collection. 

When we photoed the skirt we did it to show how you can change the look of the hem depending on if you choose to button the buttons up, or leave them undone. there are many configurations that you can do, including buttoning some of the button holes onto the same buttons inside or leaving them all undone and having a longer length skirt. Another key component of the show where these extremely high waists that you would then put a large belt around. My client told me that she often wore this as a strapless dress as well and if you are small enough through the bust to do so, you can have that added option. There is boning through the sides of the waist that help to hold it up and in place. The amount of fabric that the skirt has, and that unusual way the hem has been sewn combined with the buttons, really does give it the most fantastic and fascinating movement when you move. The fabric is at ultra soft white cotton or cotton mix. This piece was only ever owned by one person and it was loved and worn. It does have some faint marks on it but it doesn't take away from the importance or rarity of the piece.

This is an exceptionally rare piece to come up for sale from one of his very early collections. Excellent overall condition with a note below.

The skirt is unlined and closes with a hidden set side zipper. There are buttonholes hidden along the hem of the skirts and then button sit along the seams inside the skirt which is what allows you to change the look and length of the skirt. I see a repair along the back but because of the asymmetrical hem you would actually think that this was deliberate if you did not know better. I see another tiny area at the front where someone has put a stitch near the seam. There are some marks on the front and along one side of the hem. I did have this cleaned and they faded quite a bit but we were not overly aggressive in the cleaning. You might be able to fully get these out with more specialty cleaning. Please see the photos after the label. It is a remarkable piece of fashion history

Waist: 13.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Total Length at its longest and unbuttoned it is 45" and then it can be adjusted with the buttons shorter

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD4785

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.