Campbell's 'Souper' paper dress

Andy Warhol 1928 - 1987

Summary

A disposable A-line dress made of screen-printed tissue, wood pulp and rayon mesh with binding tape, is printed with the Campbell's Soup red, black and white labels. At the back of the neckline is attached the original label that reads: "The Souper Dress/No Cleaning/ No Washing/ It's carefree fire resistant unless washed or cleaned/To refresh, press lightly with warm iron/80% Cellulose, 20% Cotton". The 'Souper Dress' was inspired by the canvas painted by Andy Warhol in1962 entitled '32 Soup Cans'; it was produced as a print on a paper dress by the Campbell Soup Company as a mail order offer in 1968, an effective advertising campaign when paper dresses were all the rage. Two labels from any different kinds of Campbell’s Vegetable Soups and $1.00 got the dress.Similar advertising offers were made by other American companies, such as Green Giant sweetcorn. The advert declared: "Campbell’s Souper Dress, on you, it’ll look… M’m ! M’m ! Good !...It's a pretty groovy deal'. The Souper Dress represents the interplay of fashion, art, advertising and manufacturing in a single image and captures the vibrant, youthful, optimistic and consumerist zeitgeist of the 1960s.