Ikat Dress or Tunic, Uzbekistan

Magenta, saffron and plum, bleeding into each other like a sunset with no plans to end.

This ikat dress or tunic comes from Uzbekistan and dates to ca. 1920. It is shoi silk. In Central Asian ikat, the threads are bound and dyed before weaving, so every pattern arrives with the soft, feathered edges that the Uzbek word abr, meaning cloud, is often said to describe. Broad horizontal bands of hot pink, deep purple and golden orange run across the body, each edge flickering into fine vertical streaks. The short, wide sleeves are cut from separate panels, so the bands meet at slight angles. A slit opening sits at the neck.

Subtlety was never invited, and the garment is better for it.