HOT ! The Glass Swan Silk Waterfall Dress

The Silk Waterfall Dress is constructed in London from our dusky Crepe-de-Chine. Showcasing Sabina’s detailed pencil illustration, it features a beautiful asymmetrical bias cut for maximum fluidity. The gentle cowl neckline creates delicate drama, while the armholes are elegantly cut inwards to expose the full shoulder. The dress features a sweeping diagonal seam from the right hip, creating a soft cascade of silk, the precise pin hem ending in a subtle point. The dress fastens with a concealed zip at the centre back, and the garment is finished with French seams, and long grosgrain ribbons trailing gracefully from the back neckline.

The Glass Swan was inspired by Italian Renaissance paintings and cultural events alongside beliefs and attitudes of the era; the dichotomy of idealism versus naturalism opening a portal to landscapes of fantasy, a ‘New World’. Glass, bubbles and delicate, translucent fabrics were all employed within Italian Renaissance art as a metaphor or philosophical alry for the immaculate conception, for light passes through these objects without causing harm. In this vein, Botticelli’s Primavera and The Birth of Venus were referenced, in tandem with strings and chains of pearls, denoting purity, preciousness and truth. The immediate scene around the protagonist is a Renaissance still life; again, translucent liquids and glass objects are employed for their symbolism, while citrus (known as ‘medicinal apples’) are abandoned half-peeled. Small creatures, such as wasps and snails, act as symbols of the brevity and impermanence of life. Bordered by a satin ribbon, the scene is laid within a fairytale landscape, where pastel palaces and elegant spires extend into the hazy skies from atop the lofty mountains. This is no ordinary view; it is a place where the immortals tread, the state between earth and heaven.

The whimsical text within the design is a play on Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus.