Gabrielle 'Coco' Chanel (1883-1971)
Machine and hand sewn blue tulle and sequins
Museum no. T.339-1960
Given by Loelia, Duchess of Westminster
During the first half of the 1930s, evening dresses were designed to wrap women in luxurious, body-hugging sheaths, replacing the short, flat square gowns of the 1920s. Evening gowns were mostly sleeveless, often displaying a bare back or a low neckline and inevitably touching the floor. White or pastel colours, fashionable in the 1920s and early 1930s, soon gave way to stronger, more acidic colours.
After championing the modern, sporty and androgynous woman of the 1920s, Chanel successfully ventured into a luxurious and more feminine fashion in the 1930s.