The Shrimpton Couture Archives

• The twin of the dress was shown for Look 8 in the Pre-Fall 2013 Gucci collection.
• Made under the creative direction of Frida Giannini
  
• One was also worn by Clara Paget that same year
• A gorgeous leopard print covers the entire surface of the top silk chiffon layer of the dress.
• The front crosses over itself at the neck and then buttons in place behind the neck. Under that the top blouses over you and comes in at the waist. This leaves the back almost fully open and bare.
• It was shown with a belt that was sold separately and you could easily wear it with any belt to add more shape or wear it without.
• The skirt falls from the waist and it is incredibly full with yards and yards of chiffon. When you move this catches the air and billows out to move fantastically around you.
• The Gucci logo for this time period is worked within the leopard pattern over the entire dress
• Fully lined in a black silk chiffon and closes with a back hidden set zipper. It buttons to close at the back of the neck
• Tagged a Gucci 40
• Excellent condition with some very minor repairs near the hem of the skirt that you would never see

Bust: covers to 16.5" flat across from side to side with no true side seams
Waist: 13" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Bodice: approx 15" from neck to waist
Total length: 61" from neck to front hem, 66" to the longest point at the back

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD5151

Reference Photos: (1) Pre-Fall 2013 Gucci, Look 8. Model Lin Kjeruif.  /  (2) Clara Paget in Gucci at the Serpentine Summer Party, 2013.

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 can only be shipped to a Canadian address

This is the twin of Look 27 from the runway and it is an exceptional piece of Gucci history. It was featured in Vogue that season on Natalia Vodianova and I love that these show you how great this is on the body. The Vogue review said 'The Gucci girl’s got legs—long, tan, flawless ones striding along on silver peep-toe sling-back pumps. Follow them all the way up, and around two weeks later, they eventually meet the hem of the minutest piece of clothing that was ever called a skirt or dress. For spring, in a word, Tom Ford says short. Using lustrous fabrics in subtle makeup colors from blush to tawny brown, pearly gray and silver, Ford draped and wrapped his gorgeous girls in clothes that navigated that dangerous Gucci line between innovation and vulgarity. The tousled hair, the jackets and tops poised to fall off shoulders—the whole presentation stirred sensations that fashion hasn’t felt since the last days of the great supermodels. Still, don’t think tacky. Ford’s obsession now is integrating fine workmanship into abbreviated silhouettes." The feather dresses were mentioned specifically; "He brought couture finesse to racer-back feathered dresses with the merest flip of a skirt....it was a confident statement in the power of glamour. And fashion needs that.' To this day this is one of the most recognizable of his pieces. 

This dress is thought of as one of the top ten Gucci pieces that Tom Ford designed. The dress is meant to be worn very short and daring. It shows off miles of legs. The top plunges low at the front and the back curves in to create a racer-back leaving your back bare on either side. It skims over the waist and hips and then flares out at the skirt. The skirt has two tiers of feather detailed ruffles and this extra little flounce gives it movement when you move. It is made from two layers of weightless silk with a silk grosgrain ribbon edging. The feathers are a mix of a dyed soft pale yellow mixed with some soft light taupe natural feathers for depth and interest. I took a photo of the back of the silk of the skirt and you can see that each feather was hand placed onto the silk  Vogue referenced couture in the review I added above. It snaps to close under the ribbon at the side so there is no break anywhere with a zipper. It just looks like it somehow magically formed it on you. It is an incredible piece of Tom's history with the brand. Excellent condition. 

Fully lined in a pale taupe nude silk chiffon and has hidden set snaps at the  side to close. Tagged a YSL 42. Some of the ends of the feathers have separated a bit on the natural spots it curves but this is just part of aging for a piece like this. I don't consider this a flaw but its mentioned for accuracy.

Bust: approx 16" flat across from side seam to side seam with open sides. each halter is 6" wide at its widest point
Under-bust to waist: 13.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Seam at top of hips: 16.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 30" from neck to hem but can be pulled up as short as you want

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XXS-XS

Item# DD4001

Reference Photos/Video: (1-8) Spring 2003 Gucci Runway Collection, Look 27. Model: Louise Pedersen.  /  (9) Natalia Vodianova, wearing Gucci, Vogue, February 2003. Photo by Steven Klein.

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 without a doubt one of the most recognizable of pieces ever created during Tom Ford's tenure at Gucci. It's twin was Look 10 on the runway and 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 that was sold separately. Usually when I see one of these for sale they do not have the matching corset or they are in the black colour that was sold and produced for the shops. From my understanding, this colour was only sold in some of the Gucci shops and was produced in lower quantities, making it more rare and special. The dress itself is stunning and this one is pristine. It 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. It is incredible. 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 velcro's 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. Excellent condition.

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 belt is tagged a size 40. The fabric does have stretch and the measurements below are the comfortable range laying flat.

Dress
Sleeves: approx 28" and is 12-15" around the upper arm
Shoulders: no defined seams
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 inches at its widest
approx 26-3-" end to end 

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-MED

Item# DD4728

Reference Photos/Video: (1-3) Fall 2003 Gucci, Look 10. Model Mariacarla Boscono.  /  (4) Yasmine Warsame in Gucci for Amica Magazine, October 2003.

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.