1990s Fabrice Black Satin Gown with Rose Gold Sequin Front

This decadent and unusual dress was created in the early 1990s by Fabrice, a renowned New York fashion label at the time which has now somewhat faded into obscurity. Founded by Haitian-born American fashion designer Fabrice Simon, the young designer was quickly picked up by Henri Bendel for his fabulous beadwork dresses for which he won in 1981, a Coty Fashion Award. The label became hugely popular among the most glamorous and famous partygoers of the 1980s and early 1990s before Fabrice's tragic passing, in 1998, at only 47 years old. Whitney Houston wore Fabrice to the Grammys in 1988 when she won Best Pop Performance for the song “I Wanna Dance with Somebody”. Cosmo’s legendary editor-in-chief Helen Gurley Brown said that the “most perfect dress in my wardrobe, and I will keep it like a jewel forever, is made by Fabrice.”

The detailing of this high-low dress is exceptional. Cut from a thick black silk-mix satin, the sides of the gown are shaped to cocoon theatrically around the body to the floor. Inside this cape-like tailoring, sits a sequinned mini-dress. It is held up by delicate double spaghetti straps, which support the bustier top. The top is corseted and padded at the bust, providing support and enhancing a feminine shape. The front panel of the dress is cut to a mini-dress silhouette and is heavily embellished. Thousands of matte, metallic sequins in bronze and gold smother the front and create a rose gold hue from a distance. The bust line, sides of the dress and edges of the longer panels are all smothered in rose gold sequins and outlined in gold bugle beads. These rose gold sequinned trims form a point at each edge of the bust. The bottom edge of the mini-dress is finished with a wavy hem detailed with rose gold sequins and it is lined with a black satin slip. The dress is secured at the back with a hidden black tonal zip and hook-and-eye closure.

In excellent vintage condition with no flaws to the sequin work or structure of the dress. The dress is labelled a US 8 and it is made from 55% Polyester, 45% Silk with a lining of 100% Rayon. Please check our measurements closely as the fabric does not have any stretch and it runs smaller than today's sizing. We estimate a good fit for a UK 8-10 or US 4-6.

MEASUREMENTS

BUST - 32 in. (81 cm)

WAIST - 31 in. (79 cm)

HIP - 38 in. (97 cm)

LENGTH FRONT - 27 in. (69 cm)

LENGTH BACK - 58 in. (147 cm)