Belonging to Modemuseum Hasselt’s beautiful collection, these dress and coat designed by Zimmermann are a beautiful example of the way art and fashion contaminate their worlds.

A contemporary of Zimmermann, Paul Poiret wrote in his memoirs “Am I a fool when I dream of putting art in my dresses, a fool when I say dressmaking is an art?”. Indeed, in this ensemble, Zimmermann put the art of the Fauvist painter Raoul Dufy (1877-1953), who designed the floral fabric of which are made the dress and the jacket’s lining.

The ensemble designed by Zimmermann, made of the fabric designed by Raoul Dufy for Bianchini-Férier. Collection Modemuseum Hasselt, all rights reserved.

Raoul Dufy designed this silk fabric for the textile company Bianchini-Férier in Lyon, who collaborated with a long list of great fashion Houses and designers, like Worth, Poiret, Vionnet, Lanvin, but also Dior, Yves Saint Laurent, Jean Paul Gaultier, Hussein Chalayan, Dries van Noten. Dufy signed a contract with the company in 1912 and for them produced no less than four thousands designs until 1928.

The ensemble designed by Zimmermann, made of the fabric designed by Raoul Dufy for Bianchini-Férier. Collection Modemuseum Hasselt, all rights reserved.

The French fashion House Zimmermann, set in 10 Rue des Pyramides, was therefore not the only which created garments with Dufy’s fabrics. Among the many designs created with these textiles, in The Kyoto Costume Institute collection there is a dress designed by Zimmermann in 1922 with the same fabric, but in a different colour!

Browse the incredible collection of Modemuseum Hasselt and find other beautiful fabrics by Bianchini-Férier!