1980s Diane Fres Silk Dress

At a vintage clothing show a few years back, another dealer commented that she couldn't understand why vintage Diane Fres wasn't more popular with vintage aficionados.  We don't get it, either.  Like so many other designers of wearable art, Diane Fres' background was rooted in art rather than fashion design. After studying art at UCLA, in the early 1970s she began making jackets out of vintage textured fabrics, which became hugely popular with the Hollywood celebrity set. She soon moved to Hong Kong and set up business creating gorgeous printed dresses in poly georgette. By the 1980s, Fres had added luxurious fabrics to her line, creating limited editions (ten dresses of each print, color and style combination), and selling them in tony boutiques in Saks, Bergdorf Goodman, Bullocks Wilshire and Lord & Taylor for prices that reached over $1,000 a dress.  This dress, a silk crepe de chine printed in vivid jewel tones reminds us of a Nikki de Saint Phalle. The bodice is a modified wrap style, overlapping into an elasticized waist, with a car-wash paneled skirt that floats and caresses the legs as you walk. Padded shoulder with a tapered, nearly batwing style, raglan sleeve.  The entire effect is ethereal and fantastic - high-end boho. The design of this dress will accommodate a modern 6 to maybe 12 - we're showing it displayed on a dress form with measurements of 37"-27"-37", and the dress should accommodate a bust up to 40", waist 20" to  32", hip to 42", center back to end of sleeve is 31", length on dress form is 45", hanging straight is 50".  Sooner or later, vintage Diane Fres is going to catch on - get her now while the gettin's good. sold