A bias cut garment is essentially a dress whose fabric is cut diagonally. The result of this operation gives these garments a very peculiar look: they tend to cling to a woman’s curves with a delicate, graceful – and sensual – flow.

The bias-cut technique, still in use in contemporary pattern making, initially appeared in the work of the Parisian couturière Madeleine Vionnet in 1927, who used it to introduce a new silhouette that later came to characterise the 1930s. Inspired by Classical Greek fashion, Vionnet’s aim was to create feminine and romantic gowns to emphasize the contours of a woman’s body, in contrast with the popular designs of that time, which tended to hide them. The introduction of the bias cut signified a move away from the tubular fringed and beaded chemise dresses of the 1920s.

Bias-cut evening dress by Madeleine Vionnet. 1936. Courtesy of Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris. All rights reserved

The period between the two great wars was characterized by austerity and restraint and the trend went for unadorned garments created by the manipulation of geometric forms such as square and quadrants. The technique developed by Madeleine Vionnet consisted of cutting the fabric at a 45 degree angle, instead of on the grain. This allowed the fabric to drape easily over the woman’s body with a more elegant result. Her invention arrived after various experimentations with cutting techniques, started in 1910. Vionnet was influenced in her approach by the Callot Soeurs, where she did her apprenticeship, and later by Jacques Doucet, where she learned how to incorporate classical techniques of garment construction involving minimal cutting.

Bias-cut slip dress by John Galliano. Autumn-Winter 1997, Womenswear collection. Courtesy of Catwalkpictures. All rights reserved

Due to the nature of the cut, the new technique required several more yards of fabric, which made bias-cut of difficult reach of women during the Great Depression. However, Its sensuous glamour was firstly appreciated and adopted by Hollywood screen sirens as Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo and society elite like the Duchess of Windsor. In 1933 Gilbert Adrian, head of costume at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, designed a satin bias-cut gown for Jean Harlow for 1933 film “Dinner at Eight”. It had a big success and popularized Vionnet’s new design for an American audience.

The invention of the bias cut is completely attributed to Madeleine Vionnet, also known as the “Queen of the bias cut”, and it is considered her greatest contribution to fashion. In 1990s John Galliano revamped the technique and and introduced the lingerie-inspired slip dress, popularized by Kate Moss and surprisingly worn by Lady Diana at the Met Ball in 1996, bringing a technical innovation invented years before into the realm of popular culture.