Norell Black Silk Crepe Sleeveless Dress
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Norell Black Silk Crepe Sleeveless Dress
About the Item
Norman Norell(born Norman David Levinson April 20, 1900 in Noblesville, Indiana - died in New York, October 25, 1972) was an American fashion designer, known for his elegant suits and tailored silhouettes.
The son of a haberdasher, from early childhood Norell had an ambition to become an artist. After spending a short period at military school during World War I, he studied fashion design at the Pratt Institute.
In 1922, he joined the New York studio of Paramount Pictures where he designed clothes for Gloria Swanson and other stars of silent movies. He then worked as a costume designer on Broadway, making the costumes for the Ziegfeld Follies and the Cotton Club, as well as for the Brooks Costume Company and for wholesale dress manufacturer Charles Armour. In 1928, he was hired by Hattie Carnegie and remained with her until 1941.
In 1943 Norell won a Coty Fashion Award and became a critic at Pratt Institute fashion department, where he was previously a student. Shortly afterwards Anthony Traina invited him to form the fashion company Traina-Norrell, with Traina looking after the business side and Norell the fashion side. By 1944, Norell had launched chemise dresses, evening dresses, fur coats, sequined evening sheaths, fur slacks and empire-line dresses.
Today, he is considered by many in the world of fashion to be one of the foremost fashion designers in US history, on a par with the legendary French couturiers.
- Designer:
- Dimensions:Length: 37 in (93.98 cm)Marked Size: 2-4 (US)Waist: 28 in (71.12 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Material Notes:Silk crepe and charmeuse
- Condition:Excellent.
- Seller Location:Topanga, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: AU09120751267
Norman Norell
The signature details that characterize vintage Norman Norell evening dresses include classically tailored silhouettes, feminine round necklines and tenderly applied beading, carefully inspected both inside and out. Pop culture icon Marilyn Monroe wore many of Norell’s classic dresses over the years. And as a young model for a Seventh Avenue clothing manufacturer, screen siren Lauren Bacall liked to scour the racks of Loehmann’s with her mother, looking for the odd piece by a famous designer like Norell.
Norell began his career in his early 20s, designing costumes for Paramount Pictures and Brooks Costume Company, as well as for esoteric vaudeville productions. The theater remained a major source of inspiration throughout his career. Often drenched in beads or sequins, a material that remained readily available despite wartime restrictions, his show-stopping mermaid gowns, a marriage of glitz and simplicity, harken back to the days of vaudeville. He continued to design these gowns until the end of his life.
Raised in a family of haberdashers, Norell was long-influenced by the cuts, fabrics and details of traditional menswear, and he sought to incorporate those concepts into his designs. In 1960, at a moment when women were not yet wearing pants to work, he made waves when he presented his then-controversial wool flannel culotte suit. Some years later, he designed a black dinner suit with a bow-tie, beating Yves Saint Laurent to the punch, and later still, he conceived a feminine version of an aviator jumpsuit.
A creature of habit, Norell stuck with many of his classic designs throughout his career, but he continued to experiment with avant-garde ideas for evening garments. This was perhaps most vividly expressed in his wild coats, runway crowd-pleasers adorned with ostrich feathers or massive red and pink flowers.
A fan of a full dirndl, Norell made skirts that ranged from delicately creased to voluminous balloons, and he frequently paired these with pleated blouses or tight turtlenecks. One of the first designers to incorporate traditional elements of sportswear into his evening attire, a typical Norell evening gown was divided into three separate colors: one for the top, one for the skirt and one for the sash. And vintage Norman Norell gowns are inherently versatile — they’re as modern today as they were decades ago. The little black dresses that Norell designed offered similar flexibility. Perfectly simple and sexy are the round necklines, which Norell introduced to declutter his dresses and allow for a more modern look.
Norell was the first American designer to have his name on a dress label and on a successful fragrance. He possessed a refined elegance and a quiet audacity that he expressed through timeless, wearable pieces boldly embellished with luxe trimmings. His work would come to redefine the American ready-to-wear industry and earn him the nickname the “American Balenciaga.” He received the inaugural Coty Award for womenswear and was the first designer inducted into the fashion industry critics’ hall of fame.
Find vintage Norman Norell day dresses, suits, jackets and other clothing on 1stDibs.
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