Object Timeline

  • We acquired this object.

2015

  • Work on this object began.

2020

2024

  • You found it!

Caftan And Handbag

This is a Caftan and handbag. It was designed by Oscar de la Renta and manufactured by Kate Spade and made for Oscar de la Renta.

This object is not part of the Cooper Hewitt's permanent collection. It was able to spend time at the museum on loan from Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco as part of Contemporary Muslim Fashions.

It is dated Ramadan Collection 2015. Its medium is silk with metallic embroidery. It is a part of the department.


The caftan is believed to have originated in ancient Mesopotamia. For centuries, it has been worn by the political and cultural elite, ranging from Ottoman sultans to former editor of Vogue Diana Vreeland in the 1960s. This caftan from Oscar de la Renta’s Ramadan Collection was worn by Sheikha Raya Al-Khalifa to an American embassy event in Qatar.

It is credited Courtesy of Sheikha Raya Al-Khalifa.

This object was previously on display as a part of the exhibition Contemporary Muslim Fashions.

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If you would like to cite this object in a Wikipedia article please use the following template:

<ref name=CH>{{cite web |url=https://collection.cooperhewitt.org/objects/2318797382/ |title=Caftan And Handbag |author=Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum |accessdate=24 April 2024 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution}}</ref>