History's Runway: The Lime Jacket and Dress, 1966

Dress and Jacket by Ungarro, 1966
The Victoria & Albert Museum

The famed designer Emmanuel Ungaro was born in Aix-en-Provence, France, in 1933 and is credited as having played an important role in the rejuvenation of Paris fashion.  After working with Balenciaga for six years, he joined Courrèges in 1964, going out on his own in 1965. His designs of the era always featured the angular shapes which were fashionable in the mid 1960s.

This day dress and jacket was designed by Ungaro for Mrs. Brenda Azario and was featured in French Vogue (March 1966 and March 1967).

The short jacket features his signature straight-cut design with long sleeves.  Double-breasted, the jacket is in horizontally striped wool gaberdine with turquoise and line green bands separated by narrow stripes of purple, red and orange.

Beneath the jacket, a dress of sleeveless, shift-shaped design is made of wool gabardine with a square neckline, a high waist and a bodice of horizontally striped wide bands of turquoise and lime green separated by narrow stripes of purple, red and orange.