Evening dress

Champagne silk gauze netting, leather, metal, and rubber / Spring 2007, France / Lent by Givenchy
Fashion often plays a role in the construction of gothic narratives. The ghostly white nightgown in The Nightmare contributes to the painting’s aura of sex, death, and the supernatural – and it has influenced contemporary gothic fashions, such as this Givenchy evening dress.

Henry Fuseli / Swiss-born British, 1741-1825 / The Nightmare, 1781 / Reproduced courtesy of The Detroit Institute of Arts / Photograph © 2005 The Detroit Institute of Arts
The Nightmare was a DIA Founders Society Purchase with funds from Mr. and Mrs. Bert L. Smokler and Mr. and Mrs. Lawrence A. Fleischman.