Racing against time while trying to turn back time is proving to be a welcomed challenge within the rooms of the Les Arts Decoratifs.  It is up to the Restoration team to diagnose and treat the 72+ year old Madeline Vionnet pieces.  She donated her designs to the institute in 1952 before her passing.

These exquisite designs created during Vionnets career between 1912  and 1939 used luxurious and delicate fabrics and were usually intended to only be worn for one night.  Now they will have to withstand 8 months of viewing on mannequins, and the Restoration team must take proper measures to make sure the Garment’s weight is evenly supported.

Sometimes the decoration on a dress can lead to its early demise.  Sequins and delicate beadwork are usually the first to snag or come undone and the added weight leads to manipulations of a dress’s shape and/or tearing of the garment over the years.  The team is putting using ribbon skeletons within many of the garments to help distribute weight along the constructive seams of the garments.

The show’s curator, Pamela Golbin,  also comments that, “The 750 patterns donated by Vionnet were of no help as not a single one matches any of the dresses.”