The Shrimpton Couture Archives

• This is a spectacular piece of true Haute Couture the dates to the Fall 1984 Givenchy collection and it is the actual sample dress that walked the runway that day.
• It was made under the creative direction of Hubert de Givenchy
  
• The dress would have been completely made by hand in the Paris atelier.
• I love that the reference photos from the runway lets you see how perfectly this will fit once on the body. Having a piece of true Couture is always extra special and the fact that this is the runway sample makes it that much more so. It is a true piece of fashion history.
• The fabrics used for the dress combine a beautiful black silk velvet and black silk cut out beaded overlay on the skirt with a very high quality soft blue silk for the bodice.
• The dress is strapless and there is an attached inner corset that is boned and structured to hold the dress perfectly in place around you.
• The silk of the outer bodice is laid over the inner corset so that it softly drapes around you. A panel wraps around the upper bodice and is gathered in to the centre where it appears to tie with two ends of a bow at the centre. This cleverly hides how the dress closes. Underneath that is a opening with a hidden handset zipper. It snaps into place over that and has more snaps along part of the waistline. It is extremely elaborate in the way it closes and this is the kind of thing you will only see in true Couture.
• The dress curves back out over the hips and falls to the floor. The hem has a simple surged finish. This is not unusual to see in runway sample pieces.
• The skirt is incredible. It has a black silk velvet base and then an entire second layer is attached over that so you get a sense of depth between the layers. The top portion is a black silk done in a floral design with all of the edges stitched with a black thread edging. They are set so they overlap each other to form a continuous pattern. The cut outs this creates leave open areas between the flowers that you see the velvet through.
• At the centre of each flower is a facetted black jet bead that adds a bit of a sparkle to the dress. 
• This is an incredible piece of history from this time period under the original Hubert de Givenchy.
• The backing of the velvet serves as the lining and the bodice is lined in a matching blue silk. It has a handmade built-in boned inner corset. There are two zippers to close the dress. There is one hidden at the centre front of the bodice and one at the side of the skirt. Two inner waist stays hooks to close. The bodice snaps into place over the zipper and partially around the waist of the skirt. The very final row of flowers at the hem have no beads. Completely made by hand to Couture standards.
• Has its original handwritten sample Couture tag present.
• There is no size tag since it is a true couture piece. Please go by the measurements below.
• Excellent condition

Bust: 15-17" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 12.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 18" flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: 9.5" from top of bodice to waist
Total length: 57" from top of bodice to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML

Reference Photos: Fall 1984 Givenchy Haute Couture.

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