Dress

This 1890s dinner dress with its distinctive design of clusters of oranges on a black ground would have made a dramatic effect when worn. The realistic design was created using sensitive colour combinations and a highly sophisticated jacquard-weaving technique, and was probably executed by silk manufacturers in the Spitalfields area of London.

The fabric shows the influence of the Oriental, and particularly Japanese styles. A taste for Japanese art and design was stimulated by the International Exhibition held in London in 1862, during which many people saw the country's wares for the first time. The contrasting colours and clearly defined motifs in the fabric design are typical of Japanese style, while the dress construction conforms to the fashionable Western silhouette of the late nineteenth century.