Tag Archive | Dress

Eye On Design: Acid Test Dress and Boots By Gretchen Fetchen

Jun28

Acid Test Dress and Boots
All Photos By Gail

Paula Douglas, also known as Gretchen Fetchen, was one of the early participants in the San Francisco Acid Test  happenings organized by Ken Kesey’s Merry Pranksters in the mid-1960s. The events were designed as gatherings to promote consciousness expansion and creativity through the use of LSD, which was legal at the time.

Gretchen Fetchen’s Acid Test Dress (1965) and painted Orange Leather Boots reflects the Merry Pranksters’ rejection of norms of appearance through the embracing of exuberant Day-Glo colors. The garment also features a star, together with red, white and blue stripes — symbols of the Merry Pranksters.

Acid Test Dress and Boots Installation View

Acid Test Dress and Boots Installation View. Photographed as Part of the Counter Couture Exhibit, Up Though August 20th, 2017 at the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC

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Eye On Design: YSL Color Block Couture Dress Circa 1965

May17

YSL Couture Color Block Dress
Photos By Gail

Yves Saint Laurent’s fall 1965 collection was inspired by the paintings of Piet Mondrian. While it became one of Saint Laurent’s most famous collections, other designers had introduced similar designs before him. The Montreal Gazette claimed that color-blocked dresses by Michele Roiser had inspired Saint Laurent to “add a few black lines” to his own creations. View some of the collections here: https://teranicouture.com/collection/evening-dresses-2016-and-2017

Installation View

YSL dress seen here with a color block design by Lousi Feraud (circa 1967) on the left.

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Eye On Design: Tina Turner Iconic Mini Dress By CD Greene

Apr5

Tina Turner Dress Close Up
All Photos By Gail

Bergdorf Goodman was an early supporter of CD Greene and first featured his designs in its store windows in June 1990.

Tina Turner in CD Greene Dress
Tina Turner Wearing CD Greene’s Design On Stage

In 1996, Greene was commissioned to create Tina Turner’s wardrobe for her Wildest Dreams tour. For this mini dress, he selected a sheer white net and Swarovski crystals to contrast with Turner’s skin, so that she she would stand out onstage

Tina Turner Dress Detail

Photographed at the Black Fashion Designers Exhibit at the Museum at FIT in Manhattan. This Exhibit is Free to the Public and Runs Through May 16th, 2017.

Installation View
Installation View

Eye On Design: 3D Printed Orange Lace Dress By Iris van Herpin

Nov23

3D Printed Orange Dress
All Photos By Gail

This dress, part of Dutch designer Iris van Herpin’s Autumn 2102 haute couture collection, was 3D printed using a process called Stereolithography. It was built layer by layer in a vessel of liquid polymer. The polymer hardens when struck by a laser beam. This technique allows for more texture and transparency than selective laser sintering. Graphic and organic elements come together to evoke dimensional lacework.

Fabricated from ark orange epoxy by Materialise, hand-sanded and hand-sprayed with a technical transparent resin, this is the second 3D printed dress by van Herpin to be featured as part of this blog’s Eye On Design series.

3D Printed Orange Dress

Photographed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art as Part of the Manus X Machina Fashion Exhibit, which has Now Closed.

Eye On Design: Flying Saucer Dress By Issey Miyake

Oct19

Flying Saucer Dress
All Photos By Gail

The Flying Saucer Dress from Miyake Design Studio (Spring/Summer 1994, prêt-à-porter collection) represents a continuation of Japanese fashion design legend Issey Miyake’s exploration of pleating garments with a playful element. He explains, “The Flying Saucer was a search for what could be done with different sorts of pleating — in this case, accordion pleats  — and to see what could be done by combining fabric, design and movement. Why not make brightly-colored, wearable accordion?”

Flying Saucer Dress Flat
Flying Saucer Dress, Flat (Detail)

The dress is made from machine-sewn polychrome polyester plain weave, and is machine-garment-pleated.

Flying Saucer Dress Expanded
Flying Saucer Dress, Expanded (Detail)

Photographed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s Manus x Machina Fashion Exhibit in the Summer of 2016.

Flying Saucer Dress

Eye On Design: 3D Printed Bone Dress By Iris van Herpen

Sep21

Bone Dress
All Photos By Gail

This dress is 3-D printed, and the 3-D file was developed by designer Iris van Herpen along with architect Isaie Bloch. The file-making took two months of intense drawing and a full week of printing in a very sophisticated machine, not comparable to the affordable 3d printers on the market for hobbyist. According to van Herpen, “People often think that when you create something by machine, it is perfect, but this dress is a good example of the opposite. While the dress was printing, many small ‘faults’ happened because of the intense heating of the material. This makes the bones irregular, and makes it look even more real.”

Photographed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art as Part of the Manus X Machina Fashion Exhibit, which has Now Closed.

Bone Dress Installation View

Eye On Design: The Face Dress By Henrik Vibskov

Sep14

Face Dress Close UpAll Photos By Gail

The Face Dress by Danish fashion designer Henrik Vibskov is a white cocoon dress featuring a V-neck, sleeveless design, with an oversized fit, gathering details, a straight hem and an Origami Face detail to the front. Made of 100% polyester, it retails for $1247.50 and can be purchased at This link.

Photographed in the Designmuseum in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Face Dress Display