EXHIBITIONS
A retrospective dedicated to the little black dress explores the endless reinvention of a design classic that transcends time.
When Gabrielle Chanel introduced her design for ‘la petite robe noire’ to the world in 1926, it made a statement. At the time, black was the sombre preserve of those mourning loved ones lost in World War I and the 1918 flu pandemic, as well as being the practical uniform of the servant class. But, with her sketch of a simple drop-waist crêpe de Chine frock whose hem skimmed the knee, Chanel reimagined black as a fashionably blank canvas for self-expression. ‘It was a democratisation and modernisation of women’s clothing,’ says Georgina Ripley, the curator of a new exhibition at the National Museum of Scotland exploring the evolution of the little black dress. ‘There was a huge shift in terms of gender roles. Chanel herself was a boundary-breaking icon driving the trend.’
Since then, the LBD has become a staple of every stylish woman. It can encompass both elegance (take Holly Golightly’s Givenchy gown in Breakfast at Tiffany’s) and something far more risqué, as demonstrated by the Versace safety-pin gown worn by Liz Hurley in 1994, or Princess Diana’s silk Christina Stambolian ‘revenge dress’ of the same year.
‘Beyond the Little Black Dress’ illustrates this versatility, featuring more than 60 examples, including early creations by Dior, Jean Muir and Schiaparelli, postmodern designs by Fiona Dealey and Zandra Rhodes, and contemporary expressions from Simone Rocha, Molly Goddard and Christopher Kane. It also charts the impact the past century’s major sociopolitical movements have had on fashion. One section considers the role of the hue in relation to racial identity through the work of designers such as Maximilian Davis and Bianca Saunders, while another explores the LBD’s influence on gender-fluid fashion, highlighting Yves Saint Laurent’s Le Smoking tuxedo. Throughout, the display contextualises the colour within different cultur
