Coco Chanel and the new ideal of femininity: the little black dress is born
It all started in 1926: French designer Coco Chanel wants to free the female imagination from useless and little-functional restrictions and decorations. Her college childhood and monastic uniform fascinate her and inspire her to create one of those sartorial masterpieces destined to go down in fashion history: “Petite Robe Noire” or “Little Black Dress”..
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Apart from the no-frills linear shape, completely new to the women’s fashion of the time, Coco Chanel chose an unconventional color for that time – black, which was considered inappropriate and was used only on mourning occasions. The new little black dress is disruptive, challenging old ideals in favor of a modern vision of femininity. American Vogue welcomes this leader positively, which he determines October 1, 1926 “A dress that all women will wear”. Comparison with the new Ford T car model comes spontaneously, the simple and functional design is suitable for rapid dissemination. So it will be It’s a matter of a few years, and the Little Black Dress will appear in the world of cinema.
The little black dress conquers Hollywood divas from Audrey Hepburn to Anita Ekberg
In 1927, a year after the creation of Coco Chanel, the little black dress was immediately appreciated: Clara Bow introduces himself to the audience in silent films “Cosette” (“It” in the original version, which would be used for the term it-girl) wear a long black dresswho later, invited to dinner at the Ritz, cuts out a dress to fit the context.
The little black dress is no longer associated with mourning, but becomes sensual woman uniform, in stark contrast to the ideal wife and housewife of the time. Movie stars fall in love with it and the little black dress becomes more and more popular until it becomes iconic in the 60s: Audrey Hepburn in the famous movie “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” wears Little black dress by Givenchy, Anita Ekberg in La Dolce Vita, she dives into the Trevi Fountain in a luxurious black strapless dress, and again Grace Kelly, Marilyn Monroe, Delphine Seyrig to the divas of our days, as Monica Bellucci who made the little black dress one of her stylistic pieces, Sarah Jessica Parker V Sex in the city and even Ann Hataway in The Devil Wears Prada.
Lady Diana’s Revenge Dress, 1994
The little black dress took on even more charm when one of the world’s top style icons decided to wear it for a special occasion: Lady Diana’s Revenge Dress. On the occasion of the ceremony at London’s Serpentine Gallery, Diana Spencer chose to wear little black dress with wide boat neckline and side slit by Greek designer Christina Stambolyan. To make the look even more sensual, black tights, a neckline and a necklace made of precious pearls with sapphires. The image of Lady Diana attracts the attention of photographers and the press thanks to breach of royal protocol (which does not involve the use of black outside of mourning events) and is called the “Dress of Vengeance”: while Lady D appears in the Serpentine gallery charming and independent, Prince Charles confesses his betrayal live on national television. A revenge that the whole world remembers (and not in a negative way) thanks to the charm of Diana Spencer. Thanks to you The little black dress is even more sensual.
The little black dress is the protagonist of the images of modern icons.
Today The little black dress has not lost its popularity., we see it in the most classic versions, but also in many other extremely complex versions. Designers keep coming back to it in their collections, and it-girls can’t refuse it. Surely there are the most devoted fans of the little black dress. Hailey Bieberwhich owns various models, Emily Ratajewski and actress Dakota Johnson who recently appeared at the Martini 160th Anniversary Celebration in Milan in a strapless piece from the Versace Fall-Winter 2023 collection. Models today are many and suit all physical characteristics, Spring-summer 2023 gave us many inspirations: from the Prada train to the cutouts, from leather to the sober and minimalist version of Bottega Veneta. What should a little black dress look like to you?