The little black dress and it’s legacy

In the 1900’s the colour black was predominantly saw as a mourning colour or a colour for the lower class, stereotypically meaning designers would steer clear of designing a garment with such a controversial colour due to its negative connotations. However, Vogue also commented on the little black dress saying that it would become "a sort of uniform for all women of taste” this allowed Chanel to move away from the distaste of the colour black and reinvent black to a colour of the wealthy and classy woman. The new fashion horizon took the colour away from mourning and implemented it into haute couture. As Coco Chanel herself said, "I imposed black; it's still going strong today, for black wipes out everything else around.”

The little black dress carried its legacy through the great depression and landed itself in Hollywood, with new textiles being used other designers followed suit to create garments much like Chanel. Arguably one of the most prominent adaptations came from Christian Dior. Postwar Dior began to bring a newer meaning to the dress, the little black dress introduced women as powerful and sexy. Dubbed ‘The New Look’ Christian Dior adapted the little black dress giving it a sexier feel, his silhouette encapsulated the prominent features of a women’s body.

...It’s Legacy

His focus was on rounded shoulders, a cinched waist and a full A-Line skirt. His creation empowered women; this coheres to the reasoning behind Coco’s designs although Dior reaffirmed the idea of corsets much to Coco’s dismay.

The little black dress hit the big screens in 1961 when it was worn by Audrey Hepburn in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”, the piece was designed by Paris couturier Hubert de Givenchy, founder of Givenchy, tailor-made for Hepburn. Inspired by Coco Chanel, Hubert designed the timeless piece with simplicity and class in mind. The dress features minimal cuts and is styled with a Tiffany necklace, with rows of pearls throughout, large sunglasses, matching black gloves and a tiara. It is argued that the little black dress worn by Hepburn is more well-known than the movie itself. The simple piece is an asset in the little black dress trend that continues today, it helped to establish the idea of a every woman needing to own a piece just like it. Harper’s Bazaar helped the piece to reappear in the 21st century as Natalie Portman wore it for a cover shoot in 2006. Later that year the dress sold for 467,000 British pounds, donated by Hubert de Givenchy himself.

In June 1994 Princess Diana stepped out in the infamous ‘Revenge Dress’, the dress broke royal protocol, it was an off-theshoulder, form-fitting black silk dress. After her separation from Prince Charles in 1991, Diana still kept the same class and elegance even if the dress was dubbed distasteful by the royals. The dress was labelled the revenge dress as she wore it to a Vanity Fair party the night her ex-husbands adultery was aired to the world. The little black dress signified dignity, class and independence. Diana shocked world with her choice, media outlets commented globally, the reaction was comparable to the 21st centuries idea of ‘breaking the internet’. Designers began developing their own variants of the dress and the style became one of the most popular that year. Much like Coco, Diana broke boundaries although different contextually the outcomes both were the same. Breaking conventional norms, freedom and empowerment.

“She’s radiant, happy and in control. Apart from losing her title of HRH, she had done exceedingly well after leaving ‘the firm.’ That night, Diana immortalized a little black dress, and wow, did she do it well.” – Alex Longmore, Huffington Post, 2018