• Mary McFadden patented her Fortuny inspired pleating technique just a couple of years after launching her label in 1973.
• This is from her higher end couture line that had a more limited production and was sold at higher end shops, Bergdorf's in the case of this dress.
• Mary was known to say frequently that there was no greater beauty than pleated cloth on the human body and she said when she developed her 'marii' fabric that her aim was to have it 'fall like liquid gold on the body, like Chinese silk.' 
  
• The dress is made from a beautiful pastel teal green synthetic silk charmeuse that she sourced from Australia. This was her signature fabric and it was then pleated in McFadden's proprietary pleating technique. 
  
• The bodice is absolutely beautiful. It comes up at the front with a beaded diamond shaped piece sitting at the peak. The heavy embellishments extend out to cover the straps that curve on either side of the neck and then a second strap sits beside that. I love the design that this makes. The straps curved down to the back leaving most of the upper back bare and exposed. Under the straps at the back there is another design made up of three of the diamond shaped panels.
• All of the bead and sequin work is done by hand and they are heavily embellished with thousands of small beads and tiny sequins in a mix of soft pastel colours. There are even little hand weights sewn into little pockets at the inside front to counterbalance the weight of the extra beading at the back.
• The pleating on the bust is set horizontally to wrap around you. The waist is seamed but in a bit more generous feel.
• The skirt falls to the floor from there and I love how she has set the pleating vertically for contrast to the bodice.
• I also love that the skirt is cut very long which is a rare thing to find in her work. As she progressed in her career she preferred to design pieces that ended at the ankle so you could see the shoe underneath. Her full length pieces are a bit rarer.
  
• The dress is fully lined in a matching coloured silk and closes with a side set zipper. All of the straps are attached and you just slip your head through them before zipping. Hand finishes.
• Tagged a vintage McFadden 6.
  
• Excellent condition

Bust: 16-16.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: to 13" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: open
Bodice: approx 17" from neck to waist
Total length: 60" from neck to hem

Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-SML

Item# DD5143

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