Dress of the Year 2009 announced at the Fashion
Museum
Feb 2010
Bath and North East Somerset Council’s Fashion
Museum is proud to announce the Dress of the Year 2009. Lucy
Yeomans, editor of the glossy fashion magazine Harper’s
Bazaar, has chosen a dress designed by Antonio Berardi for the
coveted title of Dress Of The Year.
Gwyneth Paltrow wore Berardi’s Dress Of The
Year for the premiere of her film Two Lovers in Paris in
November 2008. The black and white trompe l’oeil corset dress
featuring lace panelling was originally shown in Berardi’s
Spring/Summer 2009 collection. The combination of the graphic
monochromatic look and body conscious silhouette (two of the
biggest trends of 2009) make it a front runner in the fashion
stakes, but the dress also pre-empted the vogue for see-through,
underwear-as-outerwear looks that have been paraded on the
international catwalks for Spring/Summer 2010.
Gwyneth Paltrow herself spoke about Antonio
Berardi Dress of the Year 2009: ‘ When I tried this dress on, I was
amazed by the construction and the uniqueness of it. It was at once
elegant and sexy and very very much its own dress. It is one of the
absolute favourite dresses I have worn and I feel so lucky that we
had that evening together in Paris’.
Born in the UK to Sicilian parents, Berardi
originally began his career in the mid-1990s showing at London
Fashion Week under the Cool Britannia banner. The talented Central
Saint Martin’s graduate (he had already worked as an assistant to
John Galliano – his graduation collection selling in Liberty and A
La Mode) helped put London back on the fashion map as part of a
triumvirate along with Alexander McQueen and Hussein Chalayan. The
trio rocked the world with their individual, flamboyant and
fantastical fashion designs.
From the start Berardi’s shows were a hot
ticket for the international press and buyers with top models
wearing his designs. His debut catwalk presentation featured pop
singer Kylie Minogue modelling a scanty red lingerie inspired
dress.
After starting the new Millennium by
relocating his business to Milan, Berardi returned to the London
catwalk in September 2009 to much acclaim. The designer’s trademark
style mixes sensual figure-hugging dresses and a slick take on
traditional tailoring with a touch of romantic glamour. “I love a
curvaceous look,” is how Berardi describes his sexy and exquisitely
made silhouettes.
Berardi’s Italian heritage has earned him the
reputation for celebrating the female form so, not surprisingly,
his dresses have become a favourite on the red carpet. His faithful
clientele include Beyonce and Victoria Beckham, who was a front row
guest along with husband David at one of Berardi’s first shows.
“Antonio knows how to make a woman feel sexy yet still
contemporary,” she says.
The Dress of the Year is on display at the Fashion Museum from 12
o’clock on Friday 5 February 2010. The Fashion Museum at the
Assembly Rooms Bath, is open daily 10.30am -4.00pm, exit 5pm.
Visit the website http://www.fashionmuseum.co.uk/
for further information.
ENDS