Italian Renaissance Gown from 1490, Venice
Overview
Period/da te: 1470 -1510
Country of Origin/S tyle: Venice, Ita ly
Descr iption: This e ntry is an Italia n Re naissa nce Cotta (underg own) and Ves ta ( overg own) modele d afte r pa intings from
Venice, Italy ma de for a hig h-class noble. A s hort mantellina (cape let) was made to match. Note tha t the camisa (chem ise) is
for display a nd not pa rt of the e nte re d pieces.
Materia ls Used:
• Silver a nd black brocade, mode rn mate rials
• Black cotton micro-corde d corduroy velvet
• Cotton inner lining
• Silver trim, black braid
• Glass a nd plastic pea rls
• Rabbit fur
Process/techniques used:
Patterned the Cotta (unde rdress), Veste (overdress ), and ma nte llina.
Hand-bea ded the bodice and bottom of the arms ( Note: My a ppre ntice did the bea ding on the top part of the
sleeves to lea rn this proces s and help m e make coronation deadlines. This wa s sig nifica ntly less than 10% of the
work on this final piece. )
Sewed the ma in s eams of the cotta skirt, the lining necklines, seams on the mant ellina, and the join be twee n sk irt
and bodice on a machine
All other sewing was done by ha nd including finishing a rmskyes, all trim pla ceme nt, a nd lining finis hes.
Primary S ources Used
Boucher, F. (1966). 20,000 Years of Fas hion. Ha rry A brams.
Carpaccio, V. Mee ting of the Be trothe d Couple. The Stories from the Life of St Ursula. Galle rie Dell' Accademia, Ve nice, Italy.
Carpaccio, V. T he De parture of Ceyx. The Nationa l Gallery, London.
Cate na, V. Portrait of a W oman . El Pas o Mus eum of Art, El Pas o.
Crowfoot, E. P. (1992). Textiles and clothing c. 1150-c.1450. London: HMSO Publications Centre.
Elde r, L. C. Saints Gene vie ve and Apollonia. Na tional Ga lle ry, London.
Lotto, L. Portrait of Laura da Pola.
Vecellio, T. Wom an with a Mirror. M usee du Louvre, Pa ris.
Wake, A. (2010). Figured Fabrics. Re trieved Aug ust 23, 2012, from Realm of Venus:
http://realm ofvenus.re naissa nce ita ly.net/libra ry/figuredfabrics.htm
Wake, A. (2010). The Vene tian Wom an in the Carpaccio E ra: 1490 - 1510. Re trieved Aug ust 23, 2012, from Realm of Ve nus:
http://realm ofvenus.re naissa nce ita ly.net/wa rdrobe/ CarpaccioArrival.jpg
Wake, A. (2008, January 11). W orkbox: Te xtile 16-48. Re trieved Aug ust 23, 2012, from Realm of Ve nus:
http://realm ofvenus.re naissa nce ita ly.net/workbox/te x16-48.jpg
Background
The Gowns
This entry is an Italian Renaissance gown fashioned for an
Adrian coronation. This Italian renaissance gown was
fashioned based on two Venetian dresses from the last part
of the 15th century – 1495-1510. While these two dresses
exemplify the style, this dress was common from 1470
through 1520. The first is the Meeting of the Betrothed
Couple by Vittore Carpaccio in 1495. In this image, an upper
class woman is wearing a black round-necked Cotta
(underdress) with tight sleeves with finestrella ('windows' or
slist in fabric, usually at the elbow), beading. She also wears a
red, possibly velvet, vesta
(overdress) with a pleated
skirt and v-necked front
(Carpaccio, Meeting of the
Betrothed Couple, 1495).
The Cottas and sleeves in
this period were highly
decorated and made from
figured fabrics.
The Departu re of Ceyx (C arp accio, The
Departure of Ceyx, 1502)
Meeting of the Betrothed Couple (Carpacc io,
1495)
The second inspiration dress was also painted by Carpaccio in 1502 in
The Departure of Ceyx. In this
outfit, the Cotta is also round
necked and pearled. The
sleeves are slightly more
simple than the previous
dress. Close examination of
the Cotta shows a patterned
fabric was used. A black
vesta, probably velvet, is
worn over the Cotta. She
also wears an apron in front,
possibly pinned over the vesta (Carpaccio, The Departure of Ceyx,
1502). The vesta is more rounded in front than in the previous
painting.
The image of the young lady on the right assures us that the vesta is open
in the front, closed in some means that seems to be demurely covered in
most paintings.
The Mandellina
On top of these two gowns rides a Mandellina, a short cape worn over
the shoulders. This type of garment rose to popularity througout europe
in this time period – called a capelet in England and a gollar in Germany.
It persisted for many decades and was styled in may forms.
The Betroth al C . 1470 France (Boucher,
1966)
Mandellina; Portrait of a Wo man,
1420 venice. (Catena)
Sain ts Genevieve and Apollonia, 1506
Mandellina: 1540 Venice (Lotto)
(Elder)
The Venetian Shift -Camicia
The undergarment to the robes entered is the camica. The camica with this entry is for display
purposes, and is not part of the entry. Camisa were mostly made from linen. There is very little written
about Italina camicie; however, we can see in images that necklines were often rounded. Sleeves were
full, long, and loose at the wrists. It was made with a rounded neckline and long sleeves to puff through
the tie-on sleeves. I made the ends of the sleeves gathered so it would be easy to wear.
, (Vecellio , 1514) Woman with a mirror
Materials
Item
Renaissance Fabric
Cotta
(Undergow
n) – Silk
Damask
Veste
(Overgo wn)
– black
velvet
My Fabric
I chose a black and silver brocade made from
50% Nylon, 50% Polyester that emulated the
designs and color schemes in these
fabrics.The fabric has a heavy silk feel.
- Image shows a Venetian silk
damask of the early 16th century
(Wake, 2010)
Velvet is a weave that was highly
manipulated in the renaissance. It
was a piled fabric that had the loops
cut or uncut, or a combination of
both. Velvets of varying heights such
as wale manipulation through weft
weaving modifications or leaving the
ground e xposed to form patterns
were also common (Geijer, 1979).
Figure 1 A piece of woven velvet. Th is is
pre-cutting and fine w ales are visib le
(Wake, Wo rkbo x: Textile 16-48, 2008).
Most of what we see in today’s velvet is cut.
A finely corded Corduroy, a rigid form o f a
velvet weave, was chosen for the veste.
Substitutions
and notes
This fabric is a
modern blend
that has the feel
of silk. The
silver is
probably a bit
overdone, but
for the ornate
nature of this
Imperial
coronation
dress, it was the
best fabric
available to me
with the right
feel and motif.
While cotton
was known in
Europe in this
period, velvets
were silk and
out of my price
range for this
piece. This
fabric was rich
looking and had
some of the
details of a finer
velvet.
Lining Cotton
Pearls
Trim – Spun
gold thread
A garment lining of cotton was
referred to in the will of Queen
Blanka (1365) and in a European
document of 1489 (Geijer, 1979, p.
214)
Pearl, glass
I chose a medium weight cotton as the lining
of the bodice pieces.
No substitution
Fake pearls, glass pearls
Silver in this period was draw and
mangled flat and then spun around
a silk core. This practice began in the
13 th cetury and was in general use in
Europe fro m the 15 th century
onward (Geijer, 1979, p. 11).
I chose a modern equivalent of this type of
silver thread as the trim of the veste.
Plastic pearls
stand in for real
pearls.
My metal trim is
not real silver.
The look is not
compromised.
Black braid
I chose a black brade similar in effect to that
in the Arrival of the Ambassadors painting by
Vittore Carpaccio. This braid made the
attachment loops and lacing braid as it is
used in this portrait.
The fiber in the
cord is modern
but has the
sheen of velvet.
The braid is
period.
Figure 2 Arrival of the Ambass adors. Shows
black braid on the edges of the arm pieces
in 1495 Venice (Wake , The Venetian
Woman in the Carp accio Era: 1490 - 1510,
2010)
Fur
Many furs were used in the
renaissance. Frick (2002, p. 168)
writes of the use in Renaissance Italy
of fo x, wildcat, ermine, squirrel,
sable, lynx, wolf, hare, polecat,
squirrel, marten, and more.
I chose rabbit fur for this project. This came
in a large rug that was pre-sewn together.
No substitution
Closures
Ties, hooks and eyes, buttons
I used ties for many closures. I used a
decorative hook and eye for the vesta. I used
two snaps on the inside of the Cotta instead
of ties to assist the wearer in getting dressed.
Use of snaps for
ease in selfdressing.
Techniques
Item
Renaissance process
My Process
Patterning
Draping, using tailors patterns.
I draped this pattern with scrap fabric to
make the bodices and arms fit. I measured
skirt length.
Sewing main
garment
seams
Hand sewing with several
techniques.
Sewed the main seams of the cotta
skirt, the lining necklines, seams on
the mantellina, and the join between
skirt and bodice on a machine. This
emulates the running stitch to hold
main seams together. I used a French
seam on the long skirt seams as this
fabric is very prone to fraying. This
type of seam was rare but not
unknown. It was usually hand turned
in and sewn last.
Running stitch
(Crowfoot, Pritchard, &
Staniland, 1992, p. 156)
Substitutions and
notes
No substitution
Some machine
sewing was used
where it was not
visible.
All other sewing was done by hand
including finishing armskyes, all trim
placement, hems and lining finishes.
Whip stitches and hem stitches were
mostly used for this sewing.
(Crowfoot, Pritchard, &
Staniland, 1992, p. 157)
Pleating
Several
forms
of
I chose knife pleats for the cotta to make
it lay a bit flatter under the vesta. I used
rolled pleats on the vesta to give it the
tubular effect. This puts more fabric into
the pleat than a normal knife pleat.
(Medieval and
pleating were common in the
renaissance. The knife pleat was the
most common. As you can see in
Renaissance, 2012)
No substitution
Decoration
this painting, and the paintings in
the background, the vesta has long
tubular pleats.
As seen in the inspiration pieces,
beading was
done on the
arms, the edges
of the bodie, and
front of the
bodice. This
would have been
done with real pearls and glass.
The trims were whipped down by
hand. As can be seen in the image
below, this was an edge finish in
Venice in this time period.
(Wake, The Venetian Woman in the
Carpaccio Era: 1490 - 1510, 2010)
As seen in the inspiration piece,
metal trim near edges was a finish in
this time and location.
I used real pearls and glass to hand-bead
the bodice and sleeves.
(Note: My
apprentice did the
beading on the
top part of the
sleeves to learn
this process and
help me make
coronation
deadlines. This
was significantly
less than 10% of
the work on this
final piece. )
Bibliog raphy
Boucher, F. (1966). 20,000 Years of Fashion. Harry Abrams.
Carpaccio, V. Meeting of the Betrothed Couple. The Stories from the Life of St Ursula. Gallerie Dell'
Accademia, Venice, Italy.
Carpaccio, V. The Departure of Ceyx. The National Gallery, London.
Catena, V. Portrait of a Woman . El Paso Museum of Art, El Paso.
Crowfoot, E. P. (1992). Textiles and clothing c. 1150-c.1450. London: HMSO Publications Centre.
Elder, L. C. Saints Genevieve and Apollonia. National Gallery, London.
Frick, C. C. (2002). Dressing Renaissance Florence: Families, Fortunes, and Fine Clothing. The Johns
Hopkins University Press.
Geijer, A. (1979). A History of Textile Art. Totowa, NJ: Sotheby Parke Bernet Publications.
Lotto, L. Portrait of Laura da Pola.
Medieval and Renaissance. (2012). Period Pleats. Retrieved August 23, 2012, from Mynydd Kynghordy:
http://www.mynyddkynghordy.org/25-tudor/tudor-era/376-period-pleats.html
Vecellio, T. Woman with a Mirror. Musee du Louvre, Paris.
Wake, A. (2010). Figured Fabrics. Retrieved August 23, 2012, from Realm of Venus:
http://realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net/library/figuredfabrics.htm
Wake, A. (2010). The Venetian Woman in the Carpaccio Era: 1490 - 1510. Retrieved August 23, 2012,
from Realm of Venus: http://realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net/wardrobe/CarpaccioArrival.jpg
Wake, A. (2008, January 11). Workbox: Textile 16-48. Retrieved August 23, 2012, from Realm of Venus:
http://realmofvenus.renaissanceitaly.net/workbox/tex16-48.jpg