Cristobal Balenciaga (French, founded 1949), Evening dress, Fall 1957. Black silk gazar. Museum Purchase. P91.26.2. The Museum at FIT 2012 © The Museum at FIT.

Balenciaga transformed modern couture by bringing tailoring, a method of clothing construction most frequently reserved to make fitted suits, to the realm of dressmaking. The result was garments, such as this evening dress, that remained true to the mid-20th-century silhouette (small, fitted bodices and full, calf-length skirt) but obtained their shape through the use of deft construction techniques and stiff but lightweight materials, such as silk gazar. This was a break from the more common practice of layering garments over supportive undergarments, like corsets and petticoats. The three-dimensional neckline and Balenciaga's hallmark canted hemline further exemplify his ability to sculpt weightless, but dramatic, form from cloth.