Dress - Prue Acton, Evening, Gumleaf, Tafetta & Organza, 1981

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Summary:: This dress was designed and manufactured in Melbourne by Prue Acton P/L in 1981. It was originally made for the donor to wear to a fancy dress ball at the Underground disco in Melbourne in December, 1981. She also wore it to the Fashion Industies of Australia (FIA) award ceremony at the Sydney Town Hall, on March 26th, 1982, famously arriving barefooted. That night she won the Style '80s award in the Designer category.

In 1988 it was also worn by a model for Prue Acton's 25th Anniversary Parade.

In 2005, it was used in a fashion parade at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre to lauch the Australia Post Legends series that year, featuring six Australian fasthion designers, including Prue Acton.

A version of the dress in white was a very popular export to the U.S.
Description:: Ankle length tafetta and organza evening dress consisting of gumleaf shaped pieces of fabric in green, brown, burgundy and grey. Boned bodice is strapless with machine embroidery suggesting vertical leaves, the ends of which are handpainted in grey. Tafetta skirt of overlapping 'leaves', with brown organza underskirt of same construction. Tafetta panels decorated with machine embroidery, organza inserts and 3-dimensional cocoons to suggest real leaves. Back fastened by zip. Cream masking tape marked '1984' stuck inside bodice denotes it was used in the 25th anniversary parade (removed and placed in supplementary file.)
Acquisition Information:: Donation from Ms Prue Acton, 1994

Discipline:	History
Dimensions:	115.00 cm (Height)

Tagged with:	clothing, fashion, fashion design, fashion industry, women s clothing
Themes this item is part of:	Prue Acton, Fashion Designer (1943- ), Clothing & Textiles Collection, Domestic & Community Life Collection
Primary Classification:	CLOTHING
Secondary Classification:	Female
Tertiary Classification:	outerwear
Manufacturer:	Prue Acton Pty. Ltd. (and/or Contractors), Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1981
Designer:	Ms Prue Acton, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 1981
User:	Ms Prue Acton, Australia, 1981 or later
References:	RMIT collection