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Social Sharing
Dress
Fall/Winter 1986-1987
Not on view
Inspired by the mismatched buttons his grandmother had used to mend his childhood shirts, Patrick Kelly went on to adopt colorful buttons as his signature. A collage of different-size buttons was used for the bustier effect on this dress. The hand-sewing of so many buttons was extremely labor-intensive. To keep costs down, Kelly's designs became less dense and more abstract, and ultimately the dresses were sold untrimmed with separately packaged buttons, bows, and brooches that wearers could pin on themselves.
- Designer
- Patrick Kelly
- Title
- Dress
- Date
- Fall/Winter 1986-1987
- Object Type
- Costume
- Medium
- acrylic, cotton, and spandex blend ribbed knit, plastic and metal buttons
- Dimensions
- 109.2 cm (43 in.) center back length; 43.2 cm (17 in.) chest; 45.7 cm (18 in.) hip
- Credit Line
- Gift of Audrey Smaltz
- Accession Number
- 2021.8.1