Evening gown
c.1959
Ferdinando Sarmi
Gift of Mrs. Clarissa Dyer
S2003.794.29AB
From 1951 to 1958, Ferdinando Sarmi designed made-to-order evening gowns for Elizabeth Arden. These creations were worn by women involved in the social whirl of "great balls, dinner parties, and theatre, opera and music openings throughout the country."1 When Sarmi began designing under his own name in 1959, evening wear continued to be his specialty. A critic reviewing his first eponymous collection wrote, "Sarmi's devotion to beauty is at its ultimate" when designing evening wear.2 The strapless silk gown pictured above bears several hallmarks of Sarmi's designs, including a floral patterned textile in a pale palette, and a coordinating wrap. It may be one of Sarmi's final designs for Elizabeth Arden, as one of his last collections for the company consisted primarily of Empire waist evening and ball gowns.