Fashion Moment : LBD

Catapulting the relatively unknown then-girlfriend of Hugh Grant to the height of fame, Liz Hurley in That Dress is the epitome of the term, The Little Black Dress. Daring, sexy and downright fabulous, the black Versace number held together with oversized gold safety pins has gone down in history as the greatest gown ever to grace the red carpet. She captivated audiences with her curvaceous body and plunging neckline at the 1994 premiere of Four Weddings and a Funeral, resulting in a massive profile boost for the struggling actress.

However; things were entirely different in the Victorian and Edwardian eras, where the colour black was reserved solely for a woman in mourning and was seen as indecent and controversial to be worn outside of these depressing conditions. Expected to dress entirely in black for two years, a mourning widow began her grieving period wearing only plain black in the first year, gradually upgrading to black lace and silk, and finally graduating to the muted but slightly more vibrant colour of purple. Then in 1926, along came Gabrielle “Coco” Chanel with the original little black dress, and thank God she did. 

Published in Vogue, her ‘Chanel Ford’ dress is another time-less, historic piece that Vogue credited as “a sort of uniform for all women of taste.” The short and simple calf-length dress with only a few diagonal lines for decoration paved the way for the LBD to become a staple piece in every fashion-conscious women’s wardrobe.

Mirroring Chanel’s classic style, Givenchy’s iconic sleeveless shift from the 1961 classic movie, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, worn by Audrey Hepburn, has become a historic cinematic gown. Her vulnerable character, Holly Golightly, with her LBD and strings of opaque pearls, was considered the ideal poster-girl for the Chanel style. In 2006, the simple shift sold for a record £410,000 at a London auction house, resulting in its sale being the highest sum ever paid for a costume piece. 

The rest is history. From established fashion houses such as Christian Dior, to fresh faces like Christopher Kane, every designer has a little black dress to their name - and Mademoiselle Chanel deserves all the credit.