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

National Museum of African American History and Culture

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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
1993
Object number
2014.161.3
Restrictions & Rights
No Known Copyright Restrictions
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-Costume
Clothing-Fashion
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
Record ID
nmaahc_2014.161.3
Metadata Usage (text)
Not determined
GUID (Link to Original Record)
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/fd508baebf0-c2df-4a05-bb75-f59afd9e2d46

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