Kalipso

Kalipso rests on a dense cloth with a spring of its own, so the skirt stands unaided, without a petticoat, and falls away in large calm folds. The corset is gathered in a fan of fine tucks from the bust to the waist; they narrow the waistline and then open out into wide draping across the hip. Light travels over such fabric in bands: where a fold turns into volume it is white and open, in the depths warm and muted, and the pattern changes with every step. The train lays itself behind in soft waves and follows the turn of the body with a slight delay.

The bodice with its deep sweetheart neckline is built by hand: the folds are laid one at a time, the direction of each judged so the line of the bust reads clearly and the waist looks higher. Dropped puff sleeves sit at mid-shoulder as full cushions of the same cloth and leave the shoulders and collarbones entirely open. An extra skirt panel is thrown diagonally and caught at the hip - it gives a second layer of folds and makes the silhouette alive in profile. At the front the hem gathers into a high full volume, at the back it continues into the train, so the dress works from every side.

This is a dress for an outdoor ceremony and an evening with space to it - a terrace, a staircase, a hall where the skirt has room to turn. We make it to your measurements: the corset sits close and holds without helper straps, the height of the waist and the seat of the sleeves on the shoulder are set to your figure, the skirt length to your heel. The shade of white and the length of the train we choose together at the fitting.