photo1: Nico with Andy Warhol and Malanga. Abraham & Straus. NY 9-11-1966. © Photo – Fred W. McDarrah. From the RRRIIPP!! Paper Fashion catalogue (2007), p. 24-25
photo2: Andy Warhol Fragile dress, manufactured by Mars, 1966. Brooklyn Museum 66.237.1, New York, Gift of Abraham & Straus

 The original Andy Warhol Fragile dress of Brooklyn Museum (NY) is an additional loan of RRRIPP!! Paper Fashion exhibition at the Benaki Museum. Supported by the United States Embassy, Athens.

In 1966, Mars Manufacturing Company produced its “Paint-your-own-dress”: a white dress, sold with a box of watercolours and a paintbrush. Andy Warhol was enlisted to promote this collection, by painting a dress for Nico, singer of The Velvet Underground. He silk-screened the word “FRAGILE” over it and signed it “Dali”.

”Mars Manufacturing created The Waste Paper Boutique, targeted at the new interest in paper goods, and opened one in Brooklyn’s Abraham & Strauss department store. In November was invited to promote a paint-your-own-dress, in a clever marketing ploy designed to instil the idea of paper fashion as creativer endeavour, even art itself. The lastest white paper dress was sold with a child-like watercolour paint set shaped as a palette, complete with a brush. Nico, the Velvet Undrground vocalist, wore the dress of « whitest white twill of Kaycel R », while Warhol painted them. Nico lay on a table and warhol skill-screened « FRAGILE » on the front, and signe dit « Dali ». On another one he glued large silk-screened paper bananas, two in front and two behind. Both dressed were donated to the Brooklyn Museum, validating the event as an art happening and the paper dresses as art objects”

Excerpt from “The Sixties Paper Caper Fashions” essay by Alexandra Palmer, which is included in Rrripp!! Paper Fashion catalogue, p. 158.