House of Chanel, design house

This black couture cocktail ensemble is made is made from a serviceable textile known as bengaline. Since the 1800s, bengaline had been utilized for mourning clothing, as its pronounced rib weave added visual appeal to strictly regulated and mostly black widows’ attire. Here Chanel transforms the textile further with the laborious stitching technique trapunto, creating a serpentine effect. The raised texture of trapunto is made by pricking the fabric with a needle and stuffing minuscule amounts of batting between the backing fabric and the face textile.

The pink satin belt with boning and diminutive bow complete the ensemble, adding just the right amount of softness to an otherwise very robust textile.