Day dress, Paquin

Founded in 1890 at 3 Rue de la Paix, Maison Paquin was in the forefront of haute couture in Paris and achieved international recognition under Jeanne Paquin. The use of fur, sometimes combined with light fabrics, very quickly helped it make its name. In 1920 the firm was taken over by Madeleine Wallis, herself from a family of furriers.

With its alternations of mirrors, beads and coloured thread, the geometrical embroidery accentuates the vertical cut of this dress. The decorative range and fur trim point up postwar couture's passion for things Slavic. 

  • Auteur(s): Paquin; embroidery by Lesage
  • Dates: Circa 1923 - 1924
  • Mode d'acquisition : Gift of Mademoiselle Hugot
  • Matériaux et techniques : Black silk crepe, gold lamé, sewn embroidery of coloured beads, transparent beads, gold thread and chainstitched coloured silk thread; mirror glass; fur.
  • GAL1960.61.7