“One is never over or under dressed in a little black dress.” – Karl Lagerfield 

We take it for granted, but the “Little Black Dress” was not always a thing. Believe it or not, the LBD is a fairly recent fashion invention. Women of today accept it as a staple of the modern woman’s wardrobe, but the history of the little black dress is less than 100 years old.

Image: Vintage Style via Shutterstock

The Birth of the Little Black Dress

The LBD has a relatively short history in the history of fashion. It was Coco Chanel who first created the LBD in the 1920s. Chanel’s creation, which first appeared in Vogue magazine in 1926, was a deceptively simple drop-waist sheath dresses in black. It quickly became “the” dress for ’20s flappers.

Prior to this period black clothing was a symbol of mourning (made popular during the Victorian era) and most women would not have worn black except in mourning. Chanel, inspired by the peasant widows of World War I, elevated the black dress into a chic and elegant piece. Chanel also marketed the dress as “the dress” that every woman should own for its versatility and practicality. It was this notion that led its to staying power–the Great Depression made frugality a necessity for many.

Image: Film Noir via Shutterstock

The Next Chapter for the LBD: “New Look” and the Era of Hollywood Glamour

The LBD had a new life under the Christian Dior’s post World War II “New Look” and under the new influence of Hollywood glamour. The utilitarian necessity of the Depression era LBD was a thing of the past, but Dior and Hollywood reinvigorated the LBD and made it the dress of choice for Hollywood divas and temptresses. Stars like Rita Hayworth and Ava Gardner, both of whom epitomized the femme fatale in film noir, added to the glamorous image of the LBD.

Image: Inspired by Breakfast at Tiffany’s via Shutterstock

“Breakfast At Tiffany’s”: Audrey Hepburn and Givenchy

When one thinks of the LBD in film, Audrey Hepburn may be first to come to mind. She and Hubert de Givenchy made the LBD of the 1960s a cultural icon. His “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” design is easily counted amongst the most iconic movie dresses of all time (with only Marilyn Monroe’s white “Seven Year Itch” dress being more well known) and easily the most famous little black dress.

It was this design that cemented the LBD as fashion royalty. The timeless style will forever denote polished sophistication (at least until the next fashion icon comes along).

Image: LBD via University of Salford

The Little Black Dress of Today

Whether long or short, the little black dress is now a staple in most every woman’s closet. It is appropriate to wear to work, while running errands, or out for the evening on the town, and, yes, it still works at funerals. The key to the occasion is in the design and the styling, of course. One can truly never go wrong with adding another little black dress to a wardrobe.

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Top Image: Little Black Dress via Shutterstock

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The London Design Museum’s exhibit “Drawing Fashion,” which runs now through March 6, 2011, is a unique exploration of 20th and 21st century fashion illustrations reminiscent of a time when couture and glamor were far more chummy than today. The exhibit reflects the artistic style of each decade, through Art Nouveau to Art Deco and Pop Art.

Exhibit fashion curator Colin McDowell told Vogue, “Each drawing exemplifies the period it came from which is why illustration is so special. I want this exhibition to kick-start people in thinking ‘Why don’t we use illustration again?’ I collect Vogues and my favorite one is from 1923 – it’s so beautiful because of its drawings,” says McDowell.

These illustrations, hailing from the likes of artists that have worked with Chanel, Dior, Comme Des Garcons and Alexander McQueen bring to light a neglected area in the fashion world that began as an advertising tool pre-photography and only continues now in a handful of design houses. While it seems a dying art, the very much alive exhibit, collected over the past 30 years by Joelle Chariau of Galerie Bartsch & Chariau, is a compilation of artists like turn of the century illustrator Lepape to current artists like Mats Gustafson and Aurore de la Morinerie.

Antonio, New York Times Magazine, 1967

Gustafson, an illustrator who’s advertising campaigns have been utilized by Bergdorff Goodman and Chanel, told the Huffington Post his work has always been about “the shapes he draws attention to” and how working with designers such as Yohji Yamamoto has enabled him to complement his own style with theirs. “You have to somehow fall in love with whatever you work with, to find the most interesting perspective or the beauty in whatever you do. When it really clicks between you and the designers, then of course it is more dynamic and more exciting.”

Mats Gustafson – Red Dress -Yohji Yamamoto, 1999

While illustration expresses fashion in a more exaggerated way, inviting us to interpret clothing through more of a designer’s lens, the artist has the task of being the bridge for us to see how the designers wanted the clothes to really look on a body.

Chariau, with her 30 years experience on the art says: “their work is interesting as fashion drawing, but is also interesting from an art perspective.”

Watch this video interview with collector and co- founder of Galerie Bartsch & Chariau, Joelle Chariau and illustrators Mats Gustafson and Francois Berthoud at the Drawing Fashion media view.

The Design Museum shop will be stocking exclusive exhibition merchandise including limited edition prints, posters and postcards while a book called Drawing Fashion will also be available at the exhibit.

Top Illustration from Antonio-At Home, New York Times Magazine, 1967

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