valentino

Gorgeous Spring 2003 Valentino Runway Look 59 Bias Cut Leaf Print Silk Dress w Sequin Detailing

The twin of this dress walked the runway in the Spring 2003 show for Look 59 and I think it and was one of the best dresses of that collection. I love that we have tons of photos of it on the runway and the runway video so that you can see just how fantastic this dress is on the body. It is so hard to capture it on the dress form but when you see that video it is stunningly beautiful. The show was a huge success and the Vogue loved the evening pieces especially; "For the evening review, it gets even better. Valentino's communiqués from his couture collection show up as delicate metallic-embroidered chiffons made into fragile capes, cardigans or dresses. And for the grand occasion, there's a full battalion of the designer's fabulous signature chiffon gowns." The dress moves beautifully once on and that one shoulder silhouette makes it feel insanely sexy while still keeping with the elegance that label is know for. This is a beautiful example of the magic of original Valentino pieces.

I love this dress with its amazing use of bias cut silk chiffon. This is an incredibly difficult fabric to work with and Mr Valentino and his team were masters at it. The silk is so light that you get this fantastic floating sensation all around you with your slightest move. The dress is suspended from the one single shoulder that curves up and over the shoulder with a little gather of the silk at the top. The strap glides into the fabric of the bodice and then the dress drapes over the body to the hem. The silk is all bias cut and the shape that you see is from the incredible way the fabric has been laid out and gathered up and into the one side. On one side there is a heavily embellished detail that is meant be a huge leaf trailing up the one side. it is under this that everything is gathered into place. The leaf plays on the beautiful leaf print on the silk. It is made from thousands of teeny tiny sequins laid out and slightly overlapping it neighbour. I love how the colour of the sequins perfectly picks up on the colours used for the print of the silk. They catch the light beautifully and it has this slight 3D effect. The top of the bust is angled down and over you and it does the same at the back. The shape though the waist is created by the silk gathered into that sequin leaf and this makes it very easy and comfortable to wear. Under that the dress cascades to the floor in many yards of feather light silk chiffon. This is where the dress gets truly magical. Two layers of the silk chiffon flow over each other and it is all cut on the bias. The layers flow out in an ever widening silhouette to the ground on one side and on the other the hem curves up and is spilt at the side all the way to the base of the sequin detailing. You can see in the video that this leaves your entire leg bare when you walk. It is very flattering on the body and it creates a fantastically dramatic effect as the silk floats around you with the slightest bit of movement. This is a stunning dress. It appears to have been worn very little if at all. Excellent condition

Made of two layers of the same printed silk chiffon and closes with a hidden set side zipper. The sequin detailing looks to have been done by hand and is back with a combination of hand applied silk chiffon and nude silk netting. Tagged a vintage Valentino 10.

Bust: 15-17" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 13-14.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: to 19" flat across from side seam to side seam
Length: 65" from top of shoulder to hem
Slit: 34" from longest point of hem up

Modern Sizing Equivalent: SML-MED

Item# DD4553

Reference Photos/Video: Spring 2003 Valentino, Look 59.

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