Evening jacket 1891 - 1895

Curator: Well, that's a rather imposing garment, isn't it? All dark velvet and… trim. Editor: It’s extraordinary. I’m struck immediately by the opulence of it. Look at how the light plays on the different textiles and the density of the beading! It feels quite heavy and commanding. Curator: Indeed. What we're looking at here is an evening jacket from around 1891 to 1895, designed by Emile Pingat. It’s an incredible example of late 19th-century couture now housed at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It uses mixed media but primarily various textiles. It is absolutely teeming with symbols of wealth. Editor: Considering the period, the puffed sleeves, the fitted waist… it's practically shouting power. The sheer amount of labor involved in creating such intricate designs must have been significant. One can imagine the layers of social structure reflected in its crafting. Who produced the velvet? Where were the beads sourced? How long did the embellishment take? It speaks of elaborate social performances. Curator: I think you've hit on something there. The spiraling patterns around the upper portion and down the arms… they suggest a controlled energy, an almost stylized natural world brought under the dominion of human artifice. There is a clear hierarchy here - nature serving style, style serving social power. The jacket announces its wearer's place in society loud and clear. The jacket also gives one the impression that this aesthetic excess became a codified visual language for signaling prestige. Editor: And look at the line of beading alongside what I think is fur running down the center and sides, so that the eye is always being directed from the shoulders down, really drawing you into that cinched waist. This shape feels really central to what the garment and its potential owner signify. The whole jacket speaks of imposed structures shaping the wearer and the world around her. Curator: Well, analyzing this jacket has certainly provided quite a look into a very interesting place in time. The materials speak volumes and symbolize certain value systems for its owner and creators. Editor: Absolutely. Exploring its materiality and construction helps to demystify the fashion and reveal the tangible processes of creativity, labor, and status display that made it all possible.