Gown known as 'Robe volante'

• Fabric, circa 1720-1730 ; gown and skirt, circa 1730/1735
• Brocaded and lancé-woven figured silk, shot with spun and waved silver threads.
• GAL2016.28.1.1-2
• Acquisition of the City of Paris with the financial assistance of the Vogue Paris Foundation and the Fonds du Patrimoine (Heritage Fund) - Vogue Paris Foundation 2016
• Palais Galliera, musée de la Mode de la Ville de Paris

The gown probably belonged to Anne Françoise de La Chaize d’Aix, who in 1736 married Pierre-François de Montaigu (1692-1761), Louis XIV’s future ambassador to Venice. It was kept at Château de La Chaize in the Beaujolais region, which was home to the La Chaize d’Aix family. The celebrated confessor of Louis XIV was a family member.

 This gown is an example of the change in the feminine wardrobe between the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. It is part of the vast family of coats and dressing gowns, known as “déshabillés”, with a pleated bodice covering stays and a skirt that was lifted above or lowered over an underskirt. Fashion opposed these new arrivals to the type of gown used until that time, with a visibly stayed bodice and train; these older-style gowns were gradually relegated to official ceremonies and prestige events. Flounced gowns are very rare and only five are currently conserved in international public collections. Two are found at Palais Galliera.

Notice's author : Pascale Gorguet-Ballesteros