Gustave Beer, Evening Dress, c. 1919. Black silk tulle with silver bead and rhinestone embroidery; silver bead fringes; long train; sash in green and gold stripes; silver "lamé" under dress. Label: "Beer,7 Place Vendôme. Paris Nice MONTE-CARLO". AC7683 93-1-5 ©The Kyoto Costume Institute, photo by Richard Haughton

Through the brilliant surface ornaments and straight silhouette of this dress, people could have foreseen the coming 1920s. The scale pattern or "seigaiha" (blue ocean waves) pattern seen on this dress was used repeatedly in the 1920s as a popular motif of the Art Deco school, whose proponents favored geometric figures.
Gustav Beer, born in Germany, opened his fashion house in Paris in 1905. He also established branches at Nice and Monte Carlo. Under his concept of "conservative elegance for conservative clients," he introduced elegant dresses that were luxuriously manufactured down to the finest details. His approach was highly appreciated, and his fashion house was one of the most popular in the 1910s and 1920s.