Robe volante
The loose, sweeping gown of the Régence with pleats from the shoulders – a lighter fashion after Louis XIV.
The robe volante was fashionable in Paris around 1720–1740 and developed into the robe à la française. It is associated with Watteau’s paintings of outdoor festivities. Examples are in the Metropolitan Museum and the Musée Galliera in Paris.
Materials: Silk, often patterned
Manufacture: Broad pleats were set at the shoulders behind and fell freely to the floor over a skirt on panniers.
The deep pleats from the neck that Watteau painted – hence ‘Watteau pleats’.
The gown hangs free from the shoulders without a waist.