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Red dress designed by Diane von Furstenberg and worn by Whitney Houston

African American Museum

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    Object Details

    Designed by

    Diane von Furstenberg, Belgian, born 1946

    Worn by

    Whitney Houston, American, 1963 - 2012

    Description

    A red dress designed by Diane von Furstenberg and worn by the singer Whitney Houston for her performance of the song “I Have Nothing” at the 1993 Billboard Awards. The dress is a very slim fitting full-length dress made from a red synthetic fabric, with full-length sleeves and a turtleneck collar. The bodice and sleeves of the dress are completely unadorned. Starting below the waist, the skirt is formed by tiers of fabric stitched on a bias. The tiers are of the same fabric as the bodice, and are trimmed all along each hem with beaded tassels of strung red bugle beads, reinforced with red twill tape on the interior. Five (5) tiers on the proper left descend in a criss-cross with the five (5) tiers on the proper right, with each subsequent tier stitched underneath the tier above. The proper right tiers wrap all the way around to the back of the dress, giving the appearance of five (5) tiers on the verso. The dress fastens with an inset red metal zipper that runs from the top of the turtleneck to just above the first tier. The dress is not lined.

    Credit Line

    Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of the Estate of Whitney Houston

    Date

    1993

    Object number

    2014.161.3

    Restrictions & Rights

    No Known Copyright Restrictions
    Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.

    Type

    dresses

    Medium

    synthetic fiber, glass beads, metal, and cotton tape

    Dimensions

    H x W x D (On form): 67 × 17 × 10 in. (170.2 × 43.2 × 25.4 cm)

    Place used

    Universal Amphitheater, Los Angeles, California, United States, North and Central America

    See more items in

    National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

    Classification

    Clothing - Fashion and Historical
    Clothing - Costume

    Data Source

    National Museum of African American History and Culture

    Topic

    African American
    Actors
    Clothing and dress
    Costume
    Costume design
    Design
    Fashion
    Popular music
    Singers (Musicians)
    Women

    Metadata Usage

    CC0

    Link to Original Record

    http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd508baebf0-c2df-4a05-bb75-f59afd9e2d46

    Record ID

    nmaahc_2014.161.3

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