This dress comes directly from the original couture client and is an exceptional example of Valentino's Haute Couture work that he was doing during the 1980s. Finding pieces from this time period is a rarity and I am very pleased to have this beautiful dress in the shop. I am also pleased to have found several documentations of the dress from that season. The dress is featured in the book "A Grand Italian Epic: Valentino Garavani" by Taschen, which is considered to be one of the definitive volumes on Valentino's work. It was also featured in the March issue of Italian Vogue. That layout was photoed by Steven Klein and the dress was modeled by Monica Gripman. It was also shot on model Brynja Sverris for one of the Valentino campaigns that year. This is one of his most recognizable dresses that he has ever created and you instantly recognize it as being by him the second that you see it. It is an extraordinary and historically important piece of Valentino's couture work. This would also make an exception bridal dress for the non traditional bride or as a secondary dress to change into.

This dress is extraordinary. The lines of it are pure poetry. The front of the dress has been done with a minimalist feel and its entire design is deliberate to give you just a glimpse of what will happen when you turn around. The top overlay is made of a black silk faille and the neckline is high and slightly scooped. It curves and skims over the bust and nips in gently at the waist. The shape that you see is all done with beautiful curving vertical seams so that there is no line to break the sweep of the eye. This then extends into a long panel that lays over the inner skirting. It is cut on one side with more of a curved line, while the other side is set on a slight straigher line that runs up to the the detailing at the back. This slight asymmetrical cut is fascinating and it is done so subtly that at first your eye does not see it. Instead you only see how this allows the underskirt to sweep out slightly more on one side then the other. From under that the skirt flares out and back in a tremendous sweep of fabric. The underskirt is also made out of a heavy silk faille in a creamy ivory with black dots. Many yards of silk have been used its construction and it designed to have massive volume at the back. From every angle of the dress you get these wondrous sweeping views. At the back the black silk is cut into a V and set slightly to one side. Where each side of the front overlay meet, there is a huge ivory silk flower. The lines that lead up and towards the flower are all curving perfection and the way that the black sweeps up to meet the flower is a moment in itself. The flower is huge and sits nestled in the crook of your low back. The interior of the dress is made to couture standards and is as stunning as the exterior. There are attached inner tulles that give the skirt its shape and volume. It is one of the most beautiful dresses I have seen. It is an amazing example of his earlier Haute Couture work. Excellent condition with a couple of minor notes below. 

The dress is lined in a black silk and there are attached underskirts in silk tulle. It closes with an inner zipper that is attached to the underskirt with a second exterior zipper over that. Inner waist stay hooks to close. The panel where the flower is set snaps into place with hand covered silk covered snaps. I see some grubbiness at the hem and on the flower and a repair to one of the tulle underskirts at the back. Near the base of the inner zipper the fabric has come away from the seam. All of these are minor. Please review the photos provided after the label shot. Finished with Haute Couture construction techniques throughout. 

Bust: 17.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 14" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Length: 58" from top of shoulder to front hem, 68" to the longest point of the back hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD3604

Reference Photos: (1) Brynja Sverris in S/S 1988 Valentino Haute Couture by Gianpaolo Barbieri.  /  (2-3) Monica Gripman in Valentino Haute Couture for Vogue Italia, March 1988. Photos by Steven Klein.  /  (4-5) S/S 1988 Valentino Haute Couture Dress as shown in the book "A Grand Italian Epic: Valentino Garavani" by Taschen.  /  (6-7) Queen Sofia of Spain in Valentino, meeting Queen Elizabeth, at the Palacio Real de Madrid, in Madrid, for a state banquet in Spain, 18 October 1988.

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

The original owner of this dress wore it to host a dinner party in 1989 but I do not know if she had purchased it that same season or from a slightly earlier season. There are hints of it from both the 1986 collection in terms of  some of the construction details and the 1988-89 collection in terms of color specifically. I have included reference photos for both those collections. Of course Haute Couture was always custom made for the client so would rarely be a specific copy anyway but it is nice to have a more narrow date range.

The dress is a stunning example of Valentino's work during this time period. It mixes a sense of restraint and elegance with the softness and sensuality that the silk gives it. You are entirely covered form neck to hem but the transparency of the silk through the billowing sleeves and upper shoulders hint at the skin underneath and keep the dress from feeling too demure. The bodice is a masterpiece in shaping and couture techniques. The silk here is entirely set and gathered by hand and immaculately stitched into place to create the soft pleats that curve over the bust and highlight your shape. Inside it is boned and shaped but not to the point where it feels constrictive, just so that it holds you in place and shapes you perfectly. The skirt flows out under that in four full layers of bias cut silk chiffon so that when you move the skirts seem to float around you. This is the type of gown that Valentino excelled at; refined elegance mixed with a luxurious fabric and finished with a master's touch of provocativeness and romance. The dress presents as excellent but does have some flaws. Please review the notes below.

The interior bodice is finished in muslin, lingerie netting, boned and molded through the bust. The sleeves and upper shoulders are unlined and the skirt is made from four full layers of silk. The interior bodice closes with series of hook and eye and the dress sips to close over that with a painted metal zipper. Each cuff buttons to close with two silk covered buttons and loops. Three buttons also sit at the top of the back neck just above the slit opening that starts just above the zipper of the corseted bodice. There are various discolored areas through the skirt that go through the layers. I have photoed the worst of them. There is so much fabric that once on these are almost invisible to the eye so it is wearable as is if you are OK with it being not 100% perfect. There are some very light faint versions of the same on the upper front above the corset and through the sleeves. I see one tiny repair near the hem at the back of the skirt. Priced well down from what it would be if perfect. Note for those that buy based on how it fits me that it was a little long through the bodice and big through the bust and waist on me.

Dress
Sleeves: approx 25"
Shoulders: 15"
Bust: 17.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 16.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Bodice: 16.5" from top of neck to interior waist stay
Skirt: 45" from interior waist stay to hem

Matching ruffle edged shawl (photoed separately)
54" x 52"

Modern Sizing Equivalent: MED-LRG

Item# DD3018

Reference Photos: (1) From the book "A Grand Italian Epic, Valentino", 1988/1989 collection  /  (2-3) The "Degradè" Dress from the Valentino Haute Couture 1986 collection. (4) Cherie, Owner of Shrimpton Couture, by Erin Leydon taken on location at JohnMel Stables 

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

This is a beautiful example of Valentino's Haute Couture work that he was doing during the 1980s. The bow in particular was an important element of the collections that year and it is the highlight on this set as well. 

Both the dress and the jacket have been made out of a fine light silk crepe that is done in that signature Valentino red.  The dress is beautifully cut and unexpectedly sexy with its bare expanse of skin at the back. From the front it is a simple shift with a high neckline. Straps are set to curve up and over each shoulder, crossing over themselves and then are set into the small of the back. The back is left bare from the shoulder to the waist. The front bodice follows the shape of the body underneath and the skirt falls with a slight flare as it nears the hem. Piping at the waist to add some shape and definition. The jacket is fantastic and you will want to wear it as a stand alone piece as well as part of the set. It is cut to perfection with softly padded shoulders that are set wide and a nipped in waist. The fabric is all gathered in towards the centre of the waist and is highlighted with his signature black bow set at the centre. The jacket is in excellent condition and there is a note to review about the dress below

Both the dress and jacket are fully lined in a hand set red silk of very high quality. Proper finished buttonholes and jet beads on both cuffs. The jacket closes with hook & eye under the bow. The dress closes with a hand set zipper at the low back and the stars button and snap into place. Finished to Haute Couture standards and entirely done by hand. There is a very faint mark on the bodice of the dress. Please see the photos after the label shot.

Dress
Bust: 17" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 14" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 20.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: 15" from neck to waist
Skirt: 21" from waist to hem

Jacket
Sleeves: 22.5"
Shoulders: 17.5"
Bust: 20" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 15.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 19" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 24.5" from neck to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD2839

Reference Photo: Models in Valentino. Photo by Guy Bourdin for Vogue Paris, 1985.

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

This dress comes directly from the original couture client and is an exceptional example of Valentino's Haute Couture work that he was doing during the 1980s. Finding pieces from this time period is a rarity and I am very pleased to have this beautiful dress in the shop. I am also pleased to have found several documentations of the dress from that season. The dress is featured in the book "A Grand Italian Epic: Valentino Garavani" by Taschen, which is considered to be one of the definitive volumes on Valentino's work. It was also featured in the March issue of Italian Vogue. That layout was photoed by Steven Klein and the dress was modeled by Monica Gripman. It was also shot on model Brynja Sverris for one of the Valentino campaigns that year. This is one of his most recognizable dresses that he has ever created and you instantly recognize it as being by him the second that you see it. It is an extraordinary and historically important piece of Valentino's couture work. This would also make an exception bridal dress for the non traditional bride or as a secondary dress to change into.

This dress is extraordinary. The lines of it are pure poetry. The front of the dress has been done with a minimalist feel and its entire design is deliberate to give you just a glimpse of what will happen when you turn around. The top overlay is made of a black silk faille and the neckline is high and slightly scooped. It curves and skims over the bust and nips in gently at the waist. The shape that you see is all done with beautiful curving vertical seams so that there is no line to break the sweep of the eye. This then extends into a long panel that lays over the inner skirting. It is cut on one side with more of a curved line, while the other side is set on a slight straigher line that runs up to the the detailing at the back. This slight asymmetrical cut is fascinating and it is done so subtly that at first your eye does not see it. Instead you only see how this allows the underskirt to sweep out slightly more on one side then the other. From under that the skirt flares out and back in a tremendous sweep of fabric. The underskirt is also made out of a heavy silk faille in a creamy ivory with black dots. Many yards of silk have been used its construction and it designed to have massive volume at the back. From every angle of the dress you get these wondrous sweeping views. At the back the black silk is cut into a V and set slightly to one side. Where each side of the front overlay meet, there is a huge ivory silk flower. The lines that lead up and towards the flower are all curving perfection and the way that the black sweeps up to meet the flower is a moment in itself. The flower is huge and sits nestled in the crook of your low back. The interior of the dress is made to couture standards and is as stunning as the exterior. There are attached inner tulles that give the skirt its shape and volume. It is one of the most beautiful dresses I have seen. It is an amazing example of his earlier Haute Couture work. Excellent condition with a couple of minor notes below. 

The dress is lined in a black silk and there are attached underskirts in silk tulle. It closes with an inner zipper that is attached to the underskirt with a second exterior zipper over that. Inner waist stay hooks to close. The panel where the flower is set snaps into place with hand covered silk covered snaps. I see some grubbiness at the hem and on the flower and a repair to one of the tulle underskirts at the back. Near the base of the inner zipper the fabric has come away from the seam. All of these are minor. Please review the photos provided after the label shot. Finished with Haute Couture construction techniques throughout. 

Bust: 17.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 14" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Length: 58" from top of shoulder to front hem, 68" to the longest point of the back hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD3604

Reference Photos: (1) Brynja Sverris in S/S 1988 Valentino Haute Couture by Gianpaolo Barbieri.  /  (2-3) Monica Gripman in Valentino Haute Couture for Vogue Italia, March 1988. Photos by Steven Klein.  /  (4-5) S/S 1988 Valentino Haute Couture Dress as shown in the book "A Grand Italian Epic: Valentino Garavani" by Taschen.  /  (6-7) Queen Sofia of Spain in Valentino, meeting Queen Elizabeth, at the Palacio Real de Madrid, in Madrid, for a state banquet in Spain, 18 October 1988.

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

The original owner of this dress wore it to host a dinner party in 1989 but I do not know if she had purchased it that same season or from a slightly earlier season. There are hints of it from both the 1986 collection in terms of  some of the construction details and the 1988-89 collection in terms of color specifically. I have included reference photos for both those collections. Of course Haute Couture was always custom made for the client so would rarely be a specific copy anyway but it is nice to have a more narrow date range.

The dress is a stunning example of Valentino's work during this time period. It mixes a sense of restraint and elegance with the softness and sensuality that the silk gives it. You are entirely covered form neck to hem but the transparency of the silk through the billowing sleeves and upper shoulders hint at the skin underneath and keep the dress from feeling too demure. The bodice is a masterpiece in shaping and couture techniques. The silk here is entirely set and gathered by hand and immaculately stitched into place to create the soft pleats that curve over the bust and highlight your shape. Inside it is boned and shaped but not to the point where it feels constrictive, just so that it holds you in place and shapes you perfectly. The skirt flows out under that in four full layers of bias cut silk chiffon so that when you move the skirts seem to float around you. This is the type of gown that Valentino excelled at; refined elegance mixed with a luxurious fabric and finished with a master's touch of provocativeness and romance. The dress presents as excellent but does have some flaws. Please review the notes below.

The interior bodice is finished in muslin, lingerie netting, boned and molded through the bust. The sleeves and upper shoulders are unlined and the skirt is made from four full layers of silk. The interior bodice closes with series of hook and eye and the dress sips to close over that with a painted metal zipper. Each cuff buttons to close with two silk covered buttons and loops. Three buttons also sit at the top of the back neck just above the slit opening that starts just above the zipper of the corseted bodice. There are various discolored areas through the skirt that go through the layers. I have photoed the worst of them. There is so much fabric that once on these are almost invisible to the eye so it is wearable as is if you are OK with it being not 100% perfect. There are some very light faint versions of the same on the upper front above the corset and through the sleeves. I see one tiny repair near the hem at the back of the skirt. Priced well down from what it would be if perfect. Note for those that buy based on how it fits me that it was a little long through the bodice and big through the bust and waist on me.

Dress
Sleeves: approx 25"
Shoulders: 15"
Bust: 17.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 16.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Bodice: 16.5" from top of neck to interior waist stay
Skirt: 45" from interior waist stay to hem

Matching ruffle edged shawl (photoed separately)
54" x 52"

Modern Sizing Equivalent: MED-LRG

Item# DD3018

Reference Photos: (1) From the book "A Grand Italian Epic, Valentino", 1988/1989 collection  /  (2-3) The "Degradè" Dress from the Valentino Haute Couture 1986 collection. (4) Cherie, Owner of Shrimpton Couture, by Erin Leydon taken on location at JohnMel Stables 

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

This is a beautiful example of Valentino's Haute Couture work that he was doing during the 1980s. The bow in particular was an important element of the collections that year and it is the highlight on this set as well. 

Both the dress and the jacket have been made out of a fine light silk crepe that is done in that signature Valentino red.  The dress is beautifully cut and unexpectedly sexy with its bare expanse of skin at the back. From the front it is a simple shift with a high neckline. Straps are set to curve up and over each shoulder, crossing over themselves and then are set into the small of the back. The back is left bare from the shoulder to the waist. The front bodice follows the shape of the body underneath and the skirt falls with a slight flare as it nears the hem. Piping at the waist to add some shape and definition. The jacket is fantastic and you will want to wear it as a stand alone piece as well as part of the set. It is cut to perfection with softly padded shoulders that are set wide and a nipped in waist. The fabric is all gathered in towards the centre of the waist and is highlighted with his signature black bow set at the centre. The jacket is in excellent condition and there is a note to review about the dress below

Both the dress and jacket are fully lined in a hand set red silk of very high quality. Proper finished buttonholes and jet beads on both cuffs. The jacket closes with hook & eye under the bow. The dress closes with a hand set zipper at the low back and the stars button and snap into place. Finished to Haute Couture standards and entirely done by hand. There is a very faint mark on the bodice of the dress. Please see the photos after the label shot.

Dress
Bust: 17" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 14" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 20.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: 15" from neck to waist
Skirt: 21" from waist to hem

Jacket
Sleeves: 22.5"
Shoulders: 17.5"
Bust: 20" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 15.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 19" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 24.5" from neck to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD2839

Reference Photo: Models in Valentino. Photo by Guy Bourdin for Vogue Paris, 1985.

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