Evening Dress

Origin: United States

Year: Late 20th Century

Collection: Queens College Costume Collection

Donor: Gift of Perry Ellis

Designer: Mary McFadden

Identification number: 210.91.10 a, b

Materials: Wine-colored polyester with heat-set pleats

McFadden is well known for drawing on multicultural sources as inspiration for her designs, evident in this asymmetrical dress that features a one-shoulder top sloping diagonally in the opposite direction of the neckline over a floor-length skirt.

The simple but elegant styling of the dress is a modern incarnation of the classical Greek Chiton, often shown worn off one shoulder as in the beautiful relief sculpture of Nike Tying her Sandal (410-407 BC) from the Temple of Athena Nike on the Acropolis.

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