Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress
Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress
Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress
Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress
Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress
Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress
Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress
Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress
Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress
Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress
Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress
Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress
Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress
Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress
Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress
Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress
Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress
Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress
Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress
Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress
Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress
Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress
Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress
Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress

john anthony

Extraordinary Fall 1975 John Anthony Couture Ivory Silver Hand Beaded Runway Sample Dress

John has dived into his archives once more for me and today I have two of the dresses he sent for you with more to come. This is the actual runway sample from the Fall 1975 collection and you can see how fantastic it is on the body on the reference photo we found. The bead work on it was done by hand by Madame Gandini who did beading for many of the Couture houses of the day. John is one of my favorite American designers and right out of the gate he won the Coty Award for his work. The first time in 1972 and then again in 1976. He designed clothes that were simple and elegant but glamorous. His work veers towards minimalism with sharp tailoring. Striking evening wear was his signature and he is renowned for his cutting and tailoring. It is an extraordinary privilege to have pieces directly from his archives and these are things you will never see again. This one might even make an amazing wedding dress for the bride looking for a non-traditional choice or as an alternative dress in a more extended wedding celebration. And of course it could also be worn to any event. It is a work of art. 

John's business was all done on a made to order basis. That means the majority of pieces you will find are a one-off, or if there are similar pieces, very few of each piece exist. This personal attention to each dress is clearly seen in the workmanship of his pieces. His work is very expensive and beaded pieces like this sold for over $10,000 even in the 1970s. If you convert that to modern dollars you get to about $68,000 which is incredibly still less then a modern couture pieces done to this level would be. Having this actual runway samples that John pulled from his own archives to share with you is just amazing.

This is an amazing dress that is heavily and densely beaded. The base of the gown is made of an ivory silk chiffon and then onto that are hundreds of vertical chevron bands of a silver coloured glass tube beads laid out in to fully cover every square inch of the dress. The dress is already spectacular on its own and the addition of the thousands and thousands of glass tube beads give the dress an extra layer of texture and glamour. Every square inch of the dress catches the light and sparkles. As a result the dress is fairly heavy off the body. We weighed it and it is almost 10 pounds because of that extensive bead-work. Yet once on the body it perfectly drapes over you in a way that it is balanced and not at all unwieldy. The impact of all those silver ivory toned beads from head to toe is stunning in the light. If you even remotely love it in the photos you will gasp to see it in real life. This needs a body to give it a life of its own and the camera cannot capture just how gorgeous it is and how the beads catch the light. The cut is sublimely simple. The bodice is cut with a V and there is a border of the bead work following the V to highlight it. The rest of the dress falls from there is a beautiful column of beads to skim over you all the way to the floor. There is just a suggestion of the waist and it skims over the hips. The sleeves are long and equally as simply. They widen out as they near the hem and this graceful line of the sleeves with their bordered cuffs is perfection. The back is just one long column of the bead work. The skirt widens out just a touch as it nears the hem. As good as it photoed the effect that this dress has once it is on an actual body is far more dramatic and fabulous. If you even remotely love it in the photos you will dance when you see it in person as it is so much better in real life. It is completely made by hand and you would never be able to find its modern equivalent. It is stunning. Excellent condition with a minor note below.

Fully lined in an ivory silk chiffon and it closes at the back with a metal and nylon zipper. Hand finished throughout. As noted above it has a good weight to it since it is fully beaded from top to bottom with glass beads but feels balanced when on and comfortable. There is perhaps the occasional bead missing here and there - a bit of the top row on the back of the collar is missing - but no bare areas. There is a slight darkening to some of the beads just above the hem. Please see the photo after the label shot. It feels more ivory silver in person.

Sleeves: 22" and 12" around the upper arm
Slightly dropped shoulders: 15.5"
Bust: 16.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 14.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 18.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 60" from neck to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML

Item# DD4398

Reference Photos: Fall 1975 John Anthony Runway.

All items are thoroughly checked over before shipping. Unless noted everything in our shop has been professionally cleaned. All sales are final. Overseas clients will be emailed to obtain agreement to our final sales policy before the order is shipped as per our return policy.

Setting up a layaway is super easy and we are happy to provide this service!

Here's how deposits work on a standard layaway:

  • We require three equal payments of the layaway total. You will be invoiced for the first amount upon request
  • payment two of the remaining balance will be billed two weeks from the date of the initial deposit.
  • The final payment is due two weeks after the second payment and shipping will be billed on this invoice as well.
  • items less then $500, or that are on sale, require a 50% deposit with the final payment due in two weeks from the date of deposit 

Read More

We offer flat rate Standard UPS shipping worldwide. All shipping options are displayed at checkout in the pull down menus provided.

Want it faster?

We offer flat rates for expedited and express shipping options - these will also display at check out and can be selected with the drop down menu during the checkout process.

Read More

SIZE GUIDE

Please review all measurements carefully. More often than not, vintage garments do not fit any size category exactly. If in doubt, measure a garment of your own that fits and is a similar cut and compare it's measurements to the listed measurements below.

SEE MORE FROM JOHN ANTHONY

SEE MORE FROM THE 1970S