AN ICONIC dinner dress designed by Richard Lewis in 1979 was revived last night at his winter 2008 show, appearing in slinky red jersey at the finale.
Originally made for the model Sharon Bacon in matte black jersey with a plunging neckline and embellished with jet, it has remained the designer’s favourite in a career that has spanned more than 40 years in fashion. It was bought at the time by socialites Miranda Iveagh and Terry Keane, the latter purchasing two, one in black and another in navy.
Its success, according to Ms Bacon, a friend of the designer who still has the dress, lay in its narrow cut and the precise fit of the waistband which anchored the décolleté and kept it in place. “I was 19 at the time and my father said, you are not going out in that – but I did – and went out in it many times afterwards. I wore it for years,” she said. It cost £390 in 1979. Today’s version in red is €990. “Now I am keeping it for my daughter Becky,” she added.
Lewis, who received a lifetime achievement award during Dublin Fashion Week in August, included the item in his retrospective fashion show at the event. Demand for copies afterwards took him by surprise and encouraged its present revival.
The collection, held at his studio on South Frederick Street, included his familiar signature fabrics such as wool crepe and jersey, with up-to-the-minute short silk dupion trench coats in earthy colours such as forest green or brown over empire-line wool day dresses. Pleated backs gave collarless coats extra swing, a detail repeated on crepe “dressmaker” suits. Jackets in textured black or silver lamé provided contemporary shine.
Though consisting of merely 17 items, it was all very ladylike and vintage Lewis. Emerald green, cobalt blue and magenta brought vivid colour to lean cocktail dresses and floor-length tunics, all set off by models in severe Mary Quant-style black bobs.