Louis Feraud Vintage 1980s Designer Gown Picasso-Inspired Mosaic Beaded Evening Dress M

This dress is quite fabulous! A Louis Feraud from the 1980s, it’s asymmetrically heavily embellished in an abstract mosaic of multiple bead types and saturated jewel tones. Sequins, seed beads, bugle beads, metallic threading and rhinestones have all been artfully combined. The column gown silhouette, jewel collar and long sleeves create a sense of elegance. The 19.5” side slit adds a sexy glimpse of leg. Center back zipper, fully lined. Mint condition. Louis Feraud designer label also states W. Germany - dating the dress to the 1980s prior to the fall of the Berlin Wall!

Marked size 12. I estimate it to best fit a modern size Medium. Please check your measurements to ensure a good fit, remembering to leave room for comfort and movement. Dress measurements:
Shoulder: 16”
Sleeve: 23.5”
Bust: 37”
Waist: 35”
Hip: 38”
Length shoulder to hem: 55”

Mint condition.

From the Los Angeles Times, Dec. 29, 1999, “Louis Feraud; Master of French Fashion”, Michael Quintanilla: 

“It all started with sundresses in a little shop on the Riviera. When Brigitte Bardot was photographed in one, a creation made of white pique with patches of appliqued lace, French designer Louis Feraud became the darling of the fashion world.

On Tuesday, Feraud, one of the masters of French haute couture, died at his home in Paris. He was 79.

Highly regarded as an artist, author and philanthropist as well as designer, Feraud, who retired in 1995, had Alzheimer’s disease for the past four years. His business has been run by his daughter, Kiki, who succeeded her father as designer in 1966, and his ex-wife, Zizi.

Feraud, the son of a baker, was born in Arles, France, in 1921. After serving in the military during World War II, he worked for a time as a journalist and ski instructor before turning permanently to art.

Then the artist who loved painting women (“It never seems to work when I make a man. I have no feeling for it,” he once said)--met and married Zizi, who loved fashion, in 1947.

With his painter’s eye and Zizi’s flair for fashion, the couple started making clothes and operated a tiny boutique in Cannes, on the French Riviera.

In 1956, Feraud found a shop, workshop and apartment on the Faubourg St. Honore directly opposite the Elysee Palace, the French presidential residence. He presented his first couture collection in 1960 in a group that included separate shows by Dior, Givenchy and Lanvin.

“We invited 1,000 people to the first show and about three came,” Feraud recalled then. One of them was legendary fashion doyen Oleg Cassini, a friend of a friend. Just as Feraud had always claimed that his fashion empire was founded on the dress worn by Bardot, he also credited Cassini with getting the word out to stores and the press that there was a new designer in town.

As much artist as couturier, Feraud soon made a niche for himself with his clever black and white geometrics and bright, graphic clothes that ranged from fairly conservative suits to ruffled, Spanish-style dresses.

He favored themes such as Mexican fiestas or the symbols on playing cards and dominoes. Some of his most beautiful, luminous scarves were his own colorful designs.

Wives of the French president’s advisors would pass the time in his store while their husbands were across the street at the Elysee Palace. Celebrities from Elizabeth Taylor to Danielle Mitterrand were among his customers.”