Robe de cortège de marron- corsage et panneaux dans le dos- satin, jupe faille marron. 1938 - 1939

Curator: Here we have a fashion design by Jean Dessès, dating from 1938 or '39. The work is rendered in mixed media on paper; pencil, ink, and watercolour all feature. It's labelled "Robe de cortège", referring to a train or court dress, I believe, composed of a brown satin bodice and backing panels with a brown faille skirt. Editor: The figure itself looks haunted! There is such delicacy to the sketch—but something almost severe about that high-necked form and determined profile. Does the small patch of black fabric pinned to the upper-left contribute to this feeling, you think? Curator: The palette and composition certainly evoke the austerity and restraint so fashionable just before the Second World War. It’s very much about lines and silhouettes, isn’t it? The dress itself feels structured, geometric even. Look at the stark contrasts: light paper, balanced against dark swathes of tone suggesting the fabric's depth and fall. Editor: And yet there’s a playful exuberance too, those puffy sleeves almost lifting the sobriety. Consider the semiotic weight here! Puffs as potential freedom? The tightly fitted waist suggesting imposed constraints? I could keep riffing... Curator: (chuckles) Well, maybe that's a bridge too far, even for me. I’m interested in the way the back of the dress is shown beside the primary figure. This seems key, to indicate not only the form, but that beautiful bow in the back, cinching the whole design. A kind of release. Editor: Yes, that second drawing is interesting from a compositional view, but it almost serves as a reflection—is the garment beautiful in both directions or how will the observer perceive the gown coming or going? As if the viewer is watching it receding. It sets up an anticipation. This designer had intent. Curator: Intent indeed, I think that dress whispers elegance even now. Almost worthy of resurrection to present day society. Editor: Well said. I feel somehow reassured by it. This sombre vision has some unexpected charm that truly holds attention.