Cobalto in the light
The cobalt is so much richer than my screen promised — a proper deep ink-blue that goes almost jewel-like under chandeliers. Wore it to a winter gala and the chiffon caught the light every time I moved.









A surplice V-neck over a softly pleated bodice, released into fluid chiffon — cut long, with a cascading front ruffle that opens to a quiet slit.
Free express delivery worldwide · import duties included
The Cassia is a maxi v-neck pleated chiffon gown — a-line maxi with cascade slit from the Iulia collection — a dress conceived in Rome for weddings, the opera and occasions that ask for more. The v-neck pleated chiffon — a-line maxi with cascade slit is cut from weightless chiffon that moves with you, fully lined so it reads opaque in daylight and flash alike.
Like every Hugo Caesar Tassi piece, the Cassia is finished by hand: a concealed closure, real linings, and seams sewn to last. It is offered in 5 colors from the imperial palette — Cobalto, Avorio, Basalt, Verde Antico, Cornelia — and built to be worn for years, not a single season.
| Silhouette | Surplice V-neck, pleated bodice, defined waist seam, fluid A-line maxi with a cascading front ruffle and slit |
| Fabric | Fine fluid chiffon, fully lined |
| Neckline | Surplice V-neckline with wide shoulder straps and a low V-back |
| Length | Maxi — floor-skimming |
| Occasion | Weddings and wedding-guest dressing, garden parties, occasion wear |
| Care | Dry clean only; cool iron on reverse |
True to size: a fitted, lightly pleated bodice and defined waist release into a full chiffon A-line — take your usual size.
Model is 176 cm / 5′9″ and wears a size S. Offered S–3XL, including extended sizes.
Cut long for heels; the cascade ruffle falls along a soft front slit. Size up if between sizes or for more ease through the hip.
Complimentary express shipping worldwide; dispatched within 1–6 business days, import duties included. Most orders arrive in 3–6 business days.
30-day returns on unworn items with tags attached. Each piece arrives in a porphyry box with the HCT seal.
For occasion, pair the Cassia in Cobalto with fine-gold jewelry and a barely-there heel. Add the Faustina silk scarf at the neck or wrist to complete the look.
Keep reading & explore the edit
Cassia™Select color · Select sizeConceived in Rome, the Cassia takes the calm geometry of a temple front and softens it into chiffon.
Designed by Hugo Caesar Tassi for the Iulia line, the Cassia opens at a clean surplice V — two crossed bands of pleating that frame the décolletage and meet at a defined waist seam, the way a pediment rests on its columns. From there the chiffon is set free: a full, fluid A-line that moves with every step.
A single cascading ruffle falls down the front, opening to a soft slit — the one note of motion in an otherwise composed line. Covered and considered above the waist, light and unhurried below.
Weightless chiffon, fully lined, cut to carry a wedding, a garden, a long warm evening.
The Cassia is built from a fine, fluid chiffon that photographs like silk and moves like air, fully lined so it reads opaque in daylight and candlelight alike. The pleated bodice skims rather than clings, and the A-line skirt keeps its fall clean and long.
Offered across a true range of sizes and in five imperial tones — midnight Cobalto, pale Avorio, deep Basalt, muted Verde Antico and rich Cornelia — so the same quiet architecture suits the wedding party and the guest alike.
What she said after wearing it
The cobalt is so much richer than my screen promised — a proper deep ink-blue that goes almost jewel-like under chandeliers. Wore it to a winter gala and the chiffon caught the light every time I moved.
It's the front ruffle that makes this gown. It spills down one side like water and only parts to show a little leg when you walk, so you get the drama of a slit without any of the worry. Beautifully judged.
Weightless.
Those soft pleats across the bodice are quietly clever — they skim everything I'd rather not announce and hold their shape without a single boned seam. I felt held in but could still breathe through a long dinner.
A genuinely lovely gown — the cascade ruffle and the soft pleated bodice are everything I hoped, and the Cobalto is divine in daylight. My only personal note is that I'm petite, so I'd have loved it a fraction shorter; with my usual heels there's a touch more chiffon pooling than I'd choose. Entirely about my own height, not the gown, which is beautifully made.
Bought the ivory for my son's wedding and I'm thrilled. It reads as a warm cream rather than stark white, so I never once felt I was treading on the bride's territory, and the long A-line skirt photographs like a dream on a lawn.
This is on me, not the atelier. I'd set my heart on the Verde Antico from the photos, but once I had it by my own window I realised the muted antique green simply isn't a shade I reach for on myself — I'm forever in blues and it sat oddly against my colouring. The gown itself is exquisite: the chiffon drapes like nothing I own and the cascade front is genuinely special. Purely my own eye letting me down on the swatch.
I have a fuller bust and surplice necklines usually gape on me, but this one crosses deep and stays put. Genuinely flattering without a safety pin in sight.
The antique green is the reason I bought it and it did not let me down — muted, slightly dusty, the sort of green that looks like it's been around a hundred years. Endless people asked the colour name.
Let me start where it matters: the gown is beautiful, the pleated bodice and that drifting chiffon skirt are exactly what I wanted for the event. The frustration was purely the delivery — a long bank holiday weekend here meant the local hub shut and my parcel simply parked there for several days while everything reopened. It cut things closer to my occasion than was comfortable. No fault of the dress, which I adore, but the wait was a worry I could have done without.
Folded it into a carry-on for a destination engagement party, hung it on the bathroom door overnight and the chiffon dropped out perfectly smooth by morning. No steamer required, which for me is the whole game.
I have to be upfront that this is entirely my own doing. I ordered my habitual size without checking the chart, assuming a gown would run roomy, and the fitted pleated bodice ended up snugger across me than I'd like — I really should have gone up a size for the wrap-front to cross comfortably. The chiffon, the colour, the cascade slit are all lovely and exactly as described, so my star count reflects my own measuring tape, nothing about the workmanship.
Restrained but never dull — exactly the brief.
What sold me on a second wear was the inside: the skirt is properly lined so the chiffon never clings or turns sheer in bright light, and the seams are clean enough to wear inside out. Thoughtful construction at this price.
I bought the Basalt for a black-tie do and my daughter has since stolen it for two of her own events. One gown, three women's wardrobes — I'd call that a sound investment.
The way the skirt drifts behind you on a staircase is something else. Chiffon over an A-line means it never sticks to your legs, it just trails and settles. I kept catching my reflection.
I tried two gowns at four times this price in a department store last month and honestly preferred the cut and the hand of this one. The pleating is more considered than houses charging a fortune.
Wore the Cobalto to my engagement dinner and felt every bit the occasion. The deep V is elegant rather than revealing and the cascade down the front gave it a real sense of ceremony.
Danced, sat through three courses, walked to the car park in it — and never once tugged at anything. A floor-length gown you forget you're wearing is a rare and lovely thing.
I'm on the taller side and gowns often hover at my ankle, but this one genuinely reaches the floor with heels on. The maxi sweep is the real thing, not a midi pretending.
Sent the Avorio to my sister for her anniversary, half-expecting the usual polite thank-you. She rang me the next day giddy about the ruffle and the green-room calm of the colour. Best gift I've given in years.
Light as breath, never scratchy, with a faint sheen that catches candlelight. This is what good chiffon should feel like against the skin.
Our photographer kept positioning me near windows because the Basalt picks up light along every pleat. In the gallery the gown looks almost liquid — the cascade front catches the eye in every single frame.
Owned the Cobalto since spring, loved it so completely that the moment Verde Antico called to me I didn't even pause over the basket. Same flawless cut, a colour with a bit of history to it.
Answered by the Hugo Caesar Tassi atelier
It's fully lined and completely opaque — no slip required. Only the lightest details are very slightly sheer, by design.
True to size through the waist and skirt. The bodice is tailored, so size up if you're fuller in the bust. See the size guide for exact measurements.
Very much so — it was designed for weddings, the opera and occasions that ask for more. Cobalto and the deeper tones read beautifully after dark; the lighter colors suit daytime.
Pieces that share the Cobalto palette and the house line