1990s Bellville Sassoon Ruched Navy and White Sequin Dress

British couture house Bellville Sassoon was founded in 1953 by Belinda Bellville and provided Parisian style fashion in the heart of London for aristocrats and debutantes. Designer David Sassoon joined the company in 1958 and in 1970 the company was renamed Bellville Sassoon. Lorcan Mullany joined in 1987 having worked for Bill Gibb and Hardy Amies as an occasion wear designer. The roster of famous names wearing the House's designs is particularly illustrious: The Princess of Wales, Princess Margaret, Princess Michael of Kent, the Duchess of York, Jackie Kennedy, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, Jerry Hall, Ivana Trump, Shakira Caine, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Melanie Griffith, Helen Mirren and Madonna to name but a few.

Made in England, this 1990s monochrome dress is tailored from polyester navy jersey cannily draped to flatter the feminine figure. With a ruched waistline and an ankle-length skirt with curved hem that parts to reveal the legs on movement. The navy jersey has the illusion of being tied at the left hip where two bow ears fall down the skirt. The top of the dress is cut to a sleeveless silhouette with a keyhole cut out at the back secured with a pearl button behind the neck. It is crafted from ivory satin and is heavily embellished with eye-catching spirals of white sequins and dotted with pearls and iridescent bugle beads. There is a hidden tonal navy zip at the rear of the dress. This dress is fully lined throughout in 100% acetate.

In excellent vintage condition with no flaws of any note. It is labelled a vintage size 14 but this is small by modern standards. Our model (5ft 4in / 163cm) is a UK 6-8 and this fit her well with plenty of room to spare. We estimate this would work on sizes up to a UK 10-12 or US 6-8 as the fabric has no stretch.

MEASUREMENTS

BUST - 36 in. (91 cm)

WAIST - 30 in. (76 cm)

HIP - 37 in. (94 cm)

LENGTH - 58 in. (147 cm)