The Maxi Dress appeared in the 1960s, launched by high-end fashion designer Oscar de la Renta, already famous for his women’s evening wear and suits.

Maxidress designed by Dubuffet, 1973. Courtesy of Les Arts Décoratifs, Paris. All rights reserved

By 1968, when the New York Times published a lacy cotton version made for Elizabeth Arden, millions of people started buying and wearing dresses designed alongside the lines of this famous one; the Maxi Dress then became a women’s wardrobe essential throughout the 1970s. The popularity of this model is also due to the costumes designed for the movie based on Pasternak’s book Dr. Zhivago, in which Julie Christie wore flowing romantic maxi dresses, as well as maxi coats over trousers.

Printed acrylic jersey maxi dress by Biba, Great Britain, 1973. Courtesy of Victoria and Albert Museum. CC BY ©Biba

The most common maxi dresses were initially slightly shorter than ankle length, and usually made of lace. It wasn’t until the 1970s – the decade in which it gaind huge popularity and became a must-have fashion item, along with similar caftan and boho-styled clothing – that it started being decorated with a wide variety of motifs, from paisley to exotic and psychedelic prints. Designers such as Yves Saint Laurent, Biba, Halston, Ossie Clark and Pierre Cardin came out with their own stunning versions of the trend.

This peculiar design, almost completely disappeared by the 1980s and the 1990s, has recently made its comeback; today in fact, the maxi dress has become a go-to-garment for women all over the world, since its form can be adapted according to different requirements, either of style and substance.