John Bates founded the Jean Varon label in 1960 and it quickly became known for the futuristic designs and innovative use of fabrics. He dressed Dianna Rigg portraying Emma Peel in the 1965 season of the action TV series "The Avengers" and that helped bring him more commercial success. He was one of the first to play on the idea of ‘underwear as outerwear’ with his use of see through fabrics, mesh and cut-outs. This jumpsuit is a fantastic example of how he could pushed the envelope with those ideas.
This is am amazing piece of vintage. Truly. It is about as risque as you can get and yet its chic and cool at the same time. It is even more remarkable to see when you think of when it was made since it literally looks something that could have walked off a runway yesterday. The jumpsuit is made out of a combination of a feather light black chiffon that has a textured effect worked through it and this amazing poufed effect fabric for the legs. The top is cut to completely cover you yet the transparency makes it very sexy. The chiffon has vertical top stitched lines that run from the shoulder to the waist for added detail. Wide panels of black sequins run down either side to cover the breasts and at the back the sequins run down the center of the back to conceal the zipper. All of the chiffon between these three vertical panels is see through. More sequins circle the neck and the waist to make it feel like a define top. The waist nips in slightly and below that are the pants. Each pant is cut very wide and flares out as it nears their hems. The fabric is amazing and it has this create organic 3D pouf finish. And it has pockets on each hip. Overall excellent condition with a note below
Unlined and closes with a back painted metal zipper under the sequins. Tagged a vintage UK 10. Pockets hidden along each hip. There is some flattening around the inner seam of the pants. The width of the pants hide it when on but you can see it when laying flat. Please see the two photos after the label shot
Bust: 17.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Waist: 14" flat across from side seam to side seam
Hips: 20.5" flat across from side seam to side seam
Bodice: 16" from neck to waist
Pants: 39.5" from waist to hem with 1.75" turned under
Inseam: 27"
Full rise: 30" from neck to inner leg seam
Modern Sizing Equivalent: XS-MED
Item# DD4123
This garment has been professionally cleaned, pressed and is odor free. Thoroughly checked over before shipping, it will be ready to wear upon arrival.