hanae mori

Beautiful Spring 1978 Hanae Mori Floral Print Silk Chiffon Dress & Cape Overlay

This set is just absolutely gorgeous and pieces like this from her are getting increasingly hard to find, so it is a true treasure. The print on this one was featured both on the runway and in the ad campaign. A very close version of it walked the runway that season. It is absolutely gorgeous and a rare find. Hanae was the first woman of Japanese descent to have presented on the Paris and New York runways and the first Asian woman to be admitted as an official Haute Couture house to La Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. Her work is exceptional. Hanae Mori excelled at creating beautiful prints and they always have a hauntingly organic feel to them as she was constantly inspired by nature. 

This is everything you look for in a piece by Hanae Mori. The entire piece has one of her custom designed prints screened onto a feather light silk chiffon. Think the finest silk scarf you could have in terms of weight and feel. It has all been printed with a really outstanding oversized floral design and the colour combination is fantastic. It is two separate pieces. There is the inner dress and then you wear the more caped feeling overlay over that. The inner dress is sleeveless and is suspended from tiny straps that curb over the shoulder. It's very easy to wear as it is meant to just skim down and over the entire body in a long column of fabric. This inner dress has a fine pleat set vertically into the silk and this lets it have extra movement when you move and gives it an extra detailing and texture that contrasts with the gorgeous flowers that cover it. It is lined in a pale taupe silk and the entire dress is extremely light in weight. The flower design starts out in soft taupes at the top of the dress and changes to that stunning pastel coral colour for the bottom half of the dress. The caped piece that goes over this is spectacular. It slips over the head to wear and the neckline is set in a wide slit across the top. It is shaped to be two long, rectangles attached across the top on either side of the neck opening and when this is on this, it lets the sides drape down longer around you. On the cape, the coral is set more towards one side and I love that she did it towards the edge on one panel and towards the other edge on the other panel. There is no true front or back so you can choose to wear it on whatever side you wish. When on, that top layer gives the dress a more caftan feel. As with the best of Hanae's dresses, the effect of having the same print on the top layer and the inner layer gives the design added dimension and depth as they float over each other. The movement and drama this creates is extraordinary. This is a piece that you slip on and feel completely comfortable when wearing it and yet it has as much drama and impact as you could ask for. It is a stunning example of her work and beautifully made. I love it. Excellent condition

The cape is unlined and the dress is lined as described above. The lining of the dress zips to close at the back with a series of tiny snaps over that on the outer layer. The edges of the cape and hem of the dress have been hand rolled and stitched. Tagged a vintage 8. It appears to have been worn very little if at all

Dress
Bust: to 16" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: to 17" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 20" flat across from side seam to side seam
Total length: 59" from back of neck to inner seam

Cape overlay
Neck opening: 13.5" across
Width: 59" from side to side at the widest point
Length: 35" and falls to approx 51" to longest point when on

Item# DD4999

Reference Photo: (1-2) Spring 1978 Hanae Mori Runway.  /  (3) Spring 1978 Hanae Mori Bergdorf Goodman Ad.

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