thierry mugler

Museum Held 1986 Thierry Mugler Gold Feather Light Lame Dress w Gathered Sides

  • This dress has been dated by the one that is its twin and was part of the 2014 exhibit 'Chicago Styled'.
  • It was made under the creative direction of Thierry Mugler.
  • The dress is made out of a light in weight metallic gold fabric that drapes beautifully and is perhaps a touch paler gold than how it photoed here.
  • The dress is cut with Mugler's masterful eye and attention to detail.
  • It drapes up and over the shoulders with wide panels of the gold. On one side the fabric is heavily gathered and hooks in at the waist underneath. On the other side the dress comes out from under that and is not as gathered so that it falls more down and over the top of the shoulder.
  • The side with the wider shoulder is set into a panel that runs down the opposite side of the dress.
  • This panel is finished with gold studs and this is where the dress closes. The panel runs all the way down the side to where it splits for the hem. There is even a weight added inside the base of the panel to hold the dress perfectly in place.
  • The body of the dress is all gathered into that side panel. It wraps around you and then is gathered into the panel at the back. This creates incredible draping down the body and around you.
  • The vertical side panel draws the dress up a few inches above the hem and this then creates a bit of an angled curve along the lower hem of the dress that beautifully picks up the angles on the bodice.
  • This is a spectacular and very rare example of his work.
  • The dress snaps to close where you see the studs at the side and underneath that there is a hidden set zipper. A grosgrain ribbon wraps around the waist and is attached to the part of the bodice that tucks underneath the crossing over at the front to hook to close inside the dress. It is very cleverly put together. 
  • I love how the entire dress shimmers in the light because of the gold metallic fabric.
  • The dress is partially lined through the bodice and fully lined through the skirt. There are little padding shells set through the inner shoulders but it feels like their inner padding has been removed at some point. It would be easy to add padding back in if you preferred a stronger shoulder.
  • There is no size tag present so please go by the listed measurements below.
  • Excellent condition

Bust: approx 14-19" flat across from side seam to side seam
Inner hooked stay at waist: 12.5" flat across from side seam to side seam. Without the stay the waist is 13.75" flat across
Hips: to 18" flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: 14.5" from top of shoulder to inner waist
Total length: 40" from top of shoulder to end of the side panel, 49" to the longest point of the hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-MED

Item# DD5118

Reference Photo: Gold lame rouched evening dress, designed by Thierry Mugler, 1986. Shown as part of the Chicago History Muesum's November 2014 'Chicago Styled' exhibition.

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SIZE GUIDE

Please review all measurements carefully. More often than not, vintage garments do not fit any size category exactly. If in doubt, measure a garment of your own that fits and is a similar cut and compare it's measurements to the listed measurements below.

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