French couturier Jean Louis Scherrer trained at the House of Dior until the late 1950s. In 1962, he opened his eponymous couture house going on to dress some of the wealthiest women in the world in his elegant eveningwear. We believe this dress was designed in the 1980s, before the designer left his eponymous fashion house in 1992. After extensive research, we have found a very similar runway design which references the draped silhouette and a similar fuchsia leopard print in the Spring ready-to-wear 1987 collection (pictured above). Very similar leopard print fabrics were also used by Yves Saint Laurent for his haute couture collection in 1987. Master couturiers would often mix design elements to create bespoke pieces for the most prestigious haute couture clients. This dress was recently worn by actor Amelia Gething for a private event and she wore it backwards to amazing effect!

The dress is tailored from incredible fuchsia, almost neon hued leopard print silk chiffon - still as vibrant as the day it was made 30 years ago. The skirt is draped in a tulip style which gathers around the sides of the hips like layers of petals. There is a bandeau crop-top which attaches to the skirt on one side. Above this, a long shawl of leopard silk attaches to the top of the bandeau with a row of snap closures - this can be removed, worn around the shoulders or cascading down the dress. The dress is fully lined with fuchsia silk. The bust is boned and detailed with an internal modesty strap wrapped in fuchsia silk. The top of the skirt is also boned, securing the draped fabric around the hips and waist. The dress fastens with a hidden tonal zip and hook-and-eye clasp inside the panel that joins the bust and skirt.

This garment is in archival vintage condition and handmade of such fine silk it can be worn and displayed with care. On inspection we noted a small trailing edge where the hem has needed to be re-rolled and stitched but this would never be noticed when worn. It does not have a size or composition label so please check our below measurements carefully. The fabric has no stretch. We believe this will be a good fit for a small busted UK size 8-10 or US 4-6. Amelia is sample size and this was a great fit on her with room to spare.

MEASUREMENTS

BUST - 32 in. (81 cm)

WAIST - 34 in. (86 cm)

HIP - 40 in. (102 cm)

LENGTH -51.5 in. (130 cm)