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Collections

Rudi Gernreich
Woman's Dresscirca 1953

Not on view
Tomato-red knitted midi dress with spaghetti straps, sweetheart neckline, ribbed bodice, and textured skirt, displayed flat against an off-white background
Close-up detail of a red knitted garment, showing a ribbed waist section with a subtle diamond-shaped textured panel at center, transitioning to stockinette stitch above and below.
Designer
Rudi Gernreich
Austria, active United States, California, Los Angeles, 1922-1985
Design House
Rudi Gernreich
United States, founded 1951
Title
Woman's Dress
Place Made
United States, California
Date Made
circa 1953
Medium
Wool knit
Dimensions
Center back length: 35 3/4 in. (90.81 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of the Fashion Group, Inc.
Accession Number
M.73.102.6
Classification
Costumes
Collecting Area
Costume and Textiles
Curatorial Notes

As a boy in Vienna, Gernreich spent countless hours sketching high fashion in his aunt’s dress shop. In California, following a career in dance, he based his fashion designs on the beauty of the natural body in motion. Renouncing garment construction methods of the 1950s that sculpted the female body into an idealized hourglass silhouette, Gernreich created this knitted dress, utilizing the inherent elasticity of the material to mold the body without boning, padding, cutting, or further tailoring.



(California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way," 2011-12)

Selected Bibliography
  • Kaplan, Wendy, ed. Living in a Modern Way: California Design, 1930-1965. Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 2013.
Selected Exhibition History
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". October 1, 2011 - June 3, 2012
  • California Design, 1930–1965: "Living in a Modern Way". October 1, 2011 - June 3, 2012