Robe à la Française

Dresses

A graceful waterfall of fabric
The robe à la française, also known as the sack-back gown, is the epitome of 18th-century elegance. Its most striking feature is the famous Watteau pleat at the back: a double box pleat that cascades loosely from the neckline to the floor, like a luxurious curtain of fabric. This opulent court dress was also referred to as grande parure, the most formal attire worn by ladies at court. The style is named after Rococo painter Antoine Watteau, who masterfully captured such gowns in his paintings. Ever since, any gown with a dramatic fall of fabric at the shoulders is affectionately called a Watteau dress – timeless theatre in textile form.

Image: France, 1778–1785. © Collection The Metropolitan Museum of Art

 

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