Vintage Bill Gibb Black Mink Capelet 1970s

Detail: Extremely rare and thus very collectable vintage black mink fur capelet by Bill Gibb, from the mid 1970s. This is a truly spectacular piece. Throw it over your shoulders and close with three hidden hook and eyes to the front. The construction is outstanding, consisting of four ribbed panels (chevron bands); these are cut diagonally to form a diamond shape to front and back. A total of twenty-five mink tails have been used to trim this piece. Lined in black damask. Bill Gibb label, along with labels for Imperial Black Mink and Marie Claire of Bond Street.

Colour: Black

Sizing: This would best suit a UK size 6-12. 

Fabric: Imperial Black Mink fur

Condition: Near Perfect.

Care: Specialist Dry Clean

Origin: United Kingdom

Vintage Bill Gibb Black Mink Capelet 1970s

Always an individualist, Gibb was faithful to his own design principles, which relied on the enterprising and ingenious use of textures, weaves, and patterns in fabrics and knitting. Boldly inventive to the point of abandon at times, he mixed and matched materials and colors. His mood was romantic and far out: the effects often larger than life and always unmistakably his own. "I feel," he had said, "rather than dictate. I create a mood." Gibb wanted to create coordinates that gave women choice and pleasure to assemble in the "Gibb style," and with homage to the ethnic feeling of the day, he mixed florals with geometrics, tartans with checks, and produced sunray pleated, beaded and fringed separates, all of which became very popular.

Gibb's output during the 1970s was of such a consistently high standard, it verged on couture. He was probably best known for his evening gowns, fabulous concoctions in floaty and exotic fabrics embellished with appliqués or heavily embroidered nets and lace, silks, brocades, and chiffon panels. In this vein was his 1976 hooded cape, a favorite shape, and voluminous smocks, and kimonos with colored braid trims. Gibb confessed to a strong feeling for knitwear, which he attributed to his Celtic roots, and he certainly produced some very fine knitted garments, reflecting an interest in soft, thinner fabrics, layered upon themselves, which originated with the Italian school of designers, notably the Missoni family. He also made some beautifully elaborate outfits in printed wool, often Liberty fabrics.