Details

Object type

dress

Artist/Maker

Paco Rabanne designer; maker

Place Associated

France, Île-de-France, Paris (place of design and manufacture)

Date

1966

Materials

plastic, metal

Dimensions

overall: 910 mm

Description

Woman's dress or mini-dress made from medium-sized plain reflective white metal plastic discs interlinked with each other by four triple linked chains with small textured circular white metal plastic discs attached at the bottom of alternating disks by a single metal link. Round neckline, fitted bodice, with slight cap over shoulders, sleeveless, slightly flared skirt. Unlined.

This dress was designed by Paco Rabanne and is one of several designs along a similar theme that the designer introduced in 1966. In the same year Rabanne opened a boutique in Paris selling his ready-to-wear plastic dresses, some of which were even available in kit form. One of his most famous examples of these dresses was the one worn by Jane Fonda in the feature film ‘Barbarella’ (1968).

This dress was worn by Audrey Hepburn in the Stanley Donen’s film ‘Two for the Road’ (1967) starring Hepburn alongside Albert Finney as Joanna and Mark Wallace. Their characters are introduced as a jaded husband and wife, whose youthful romance has given way to a series of affairs following ten years of marriage. The film follows a journey they have taken to the south of France at different stages in their relationship. Flashbacks in the movie nostalgically recall their earlier experiences, with the passing of time represented in their improving methods of transport and Audrey Hepburn’s changing wardrobe. Visual cues were important in this movie as it was one of the first of its kind to juxtapose the passing of time in a non-linear manner. Hepburn’s altering styles in the movie helped viewers identify the various periods in the couple's relationship – from jeans worn by the young unmarried Joanna to the Paco Rabanne dress in this collection, worn by Hepburn as the older, sophisticated Mrs Wallace at a party near the end of the movie.

Credit Line/Donor

Museum Purchase, 1990

ID Number

E.1990.6.15

Location

Riverside Museum Main Exhibition Area