Chic Vintage Bill Blass FW92 Brown + Ivory Silk Zebra Safari Runway Dress
View Similar Items
Chic Vintage Bill Blass FW92 Brown + Ivory Silk Zebra Safari Runway Dress
About the Item
- Designer:
- Brand:
- Dimensions:Marked Size: Small - Medium (US)Shoulder to Hem: 36 in (91.44 cm)
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Condition:
- Seller Location:San Diego, CA
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU662954582
Bill Blass
Venerated designer and philanthropist Bill Blass helped define style for women of means during the late 20th century and inspired generations of fashion industry professionals and enthusiasts all over the world.
Blass designed garments that saw a playful mingling of notes both subdued and bold, and his clothes were comfortable, easy to wear and sexy. The Indiana native was influenced by the likes of Coco Chanel and became famous for refined, simple looks that appealed to prominent women such as Brooke Astor and Gloria Vanderbilt.
Blass didn’t endeavor to produce showstoppers — he worked with quality materials, and his modern designs boasted meticulous tailoring. He glamourized sportswear with chic lines and dramatic colors, and by way of subtle, graceful ruffles or a tasteful application of sequins, he introduced modest flair to his day dresses and evening dresses. Vintage Bill Blass clothing is just as relevant today as it was during the height of his career.
Blass, who spent his spare time sketching red-carpet looks in his school notebooks as a kid, left home at 17 and moved to New York City, where he trained at the McDowell School of Fashion. After finishing design school, he joined the U.S. Army and fought in World War II. When the war was over, Blass returned to Manhattan. In 1946 he joined the fashion house Anna Miller and Co., where he worked as a design assistant for Anna Miller and her brother Maurice Rentner.
Anna Miller and Co. merged with Maurice Rentner, Ltd. in 1959, and Blass became the company's head designer. There he quickly built a name for himself and was soon a staple of the postwar fashion scene, impressing even the fashion editor of Harper's Bazaar at the time, Diana Vreeland. Blass expanded into designing menswear and was the first couture designer in America to create a collection for men.
In 1970, Blass gained ownership of Rentner and renamed the company after himself. Blass employed a licensing-based business strategy, and soon his name marked a full array of accessories and apparel, including Bill Blass jeans, watches, home furnishings, eyewear and luggage. Blass's renown and success expanded considerably, as fashion bearing his name became more accessible than it had ever been.
Throughout his life, Blass made considerable contributions to the AIDS care center at Cornell Medical Center and to the New York Public Library. In 1962, he became a founding member of the Council of Fashion Designs of America (CFDA) trade association, which promotes American designers around the world. The CFDA presented Blass with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1987, and he was the first recipient of their Humanitarian Leadership Award in 1996.
Find vintage Bill Blass fashion on 1stDibs.
- 1960s Ceil Chapman Vintage Little Black Dress w/ RhinestonesBy Ceil ChapmanLocated in San Diego, CABeautiful 1960s Ceil Chapman dress, with rectangular rhinestones! Key-holes in between each set of rhinestones. Full A-Line skirt, with the intricate seams Chapman was famous for! An...Category
1960s American Cocktail Dresses
$556 Sale Price20% Off - Marc Jacobs Blue 3 - D Rose Print ' Zebra ' Silk Bubble DressBy Marc JacobsLocated in San Diego, CAWonderful Marc Jacobs blue silk bubble dress! Features unique 3-D print of a rose, that looks like zebra at first glance. Chic functional ties at...Category
21st Century and Contemporary Cocktail Dresses
- Giorgio d' Sant Angelo Black Lace ' Flapper ' Style DressBy Giorgio di Sant' AngeloLocated in San Diego, CAPretty vintage Giorgio d' Sant Angelo black 'flapper style' dress!!! Black lace overlay. Can be worn a number of ways to go casual to dressy. Looks great alo...Category
1990s American Cocktail Dresses
- Vintage Cathy Hardwick Black Silk Velvet Dress w/ Gold / Bronze Ruffle HemLocated in San Diego, CABeautiful vintage Cathy Hardwick black silk velvet dress! Drop-waist style, with wonderful bronze/gold hem. Also looks great belted. Fully lined. In gre...Category
1990s American Cocktail Dresses
- 1960s 60s Adele Simpson Black Silk Drop Waist Tiered Ruffle Long Sleeve DressBy Adele SimpsonLocated in San Diego, CABeautiful 1960s Adele Simpson black silk dress! The PERFECT 'little black dress!' Features three tiers of ruffles at hem, with matching ruffle at neck. Such a chic, classic dress. Lo...Category
1960s American Cocktail Dresses
- Beautiful Vintage Victoria Royal Ltd. Black + White + Red Lace Bustle DressBy Victoria RoyalLocated in San Diego, CAAbsolutely beautiful vintage Victoria Royal Ltd. dress! This stunning dress looks absolutely AMAZING on! Contrasting black and white stripes, with a...Category
1980s Cocktail Dresses
$630 Sale Price20% Off
- F/2012 look # 6 NEW VERSACE MACRAME GOTHIC CROSS COCKTAIL SILK DRESS 38 - 2By VersaceLocated in Montgomery, TXVERSACE Actual Runway Samole Fall/Winter 2012 Look # 6 Macrame Gothic Cross Cocktail Dress This long sleeve, turtle neck cocktail dress features an allover macrame Gothic cross...Category
2010s Italian Cocktail Dresses
- The little black dress by Chanel black and white silk Sculpted figureLocated in Bilbao, ESAbsence of vulgarity was central to Chanel’s definition of luxury, a view formed during her impoverished early life. Born in 1883 in Saumur, France, as Gabrielle Bonheur Chanel, she was just 12 years old when her mother died and her itinerant father put her in a home for orphaned girls run by a local convent. She learned to sew and, upon moving to Moulins six years later, became a seamstress. She also sang in nightclubs, earning the sobriquet “Coco,” an allusion to a popular song of the time. Beautiful, one of a kind vintage silk dress and jacket for everyday ware as a coktail dress...Category
1990s Aesthetic Evening Dresses
$2,712 Sale Price32% Off - Vintage Black Cocktail Dress with Floral Applique.Located in London, GBA chic vintage black cocktail dress , by 'styled by H Tromp for Melonique Originals Ltd. The dress is in a ribbed fabric with a v backline...Category
1950s Unknown Evening Dresses and Gowns
- NAEEM KANH Black Jersey with Lace Evening Gown Size 8By Naeem KhanLocated in Los Angeles, CAThis Nah Kanh gown is composed of a black jersey and features a lace bodice with nude tone base. There is a center back gold hue zipper. In excellent condition, with original tags. ...Category
21st Century and Contemporary American Evening Gowns
- Saint Laurent opt art wraparound embossed silk dress with black dots, circa 1980By Yves Saint Laurent Rive GaucheLocated in London, GBThis elegance and feminine Saint Laurent dress is constructed from embossed silk dress with black polka dots on white background. Featuring a V-neckline with gathered shoulders and ...Category
1980s French Evening Dresses
$585 Sale Price35% Off - Collette Dinnigan Dress Lace Beading and Stones S NewBy Collette DinniganLocated in Miami, FLGuaranteed authentic Collette Dinnigan black empire waist jeweled deep V neck dress. Exquisite lace inserts around the top. The bust area front and r...Category
2010s Australian Empire Waist Dresses