No such thing as too many LBDs

Iconic, elegant, charming, little black dresses have stood the test of time. With scores of subtle yet varied iterations, one can never have enough in their closet.

Legendary designer Karl Lagerfeld once said, “One is never over-dressed or underdressed with a Little Black Dress.” Indeed, when in doubt, fish out an LBD from your closet and you’re set. Back in the 1920’s when flapper dresses, beading, sequins, metallic thread, velvet, ruffled skirts, tiered layers were raving the fashion spectacle and the colour black was reserved only for mourning, French fashion designer, Coco Chanel printed a short simple black dress on the cover of a magazine in 1926 and changed the landscape forever. Little did she know that she had created an ensemble that would define her: classic and elegant. However, the dress took its time to make a place for itself in the fashion world.

Audrey Hepburn wore a little black dress in the 1954 movie Sabrina.

Post the world-wars, designer Christian Dior gave LBD a sexier face by adding volume and glam to the structure of basic LBDs. In the 50’s, Marilyn Monroe was seen wearing off-shoulder ones in the movie The Asphalt Jungle, slip dresses and sheath dresses in Misfits.

Later, the iconic black dress designed by Parisian couturier Hubert de Givenchy carried by Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s was the most appreciated and talked about LBD of the 60s. Loved by designers even today, “Givenchy’s sleeveless boat neck black sheath dress is iconic, Audrey compliments the look with pearls that emphasise the boat neck and black gloves that complement the bare arms. The shell body con shape with the waist cut and boat neck compliments the body, makes it a sure winner,” says designer Monisha Jaising.

Princess Diana in the revenge dress

Princess Diana’s off-the-shoulder, above-the-knee little black dress, famously known as the revenge dress was short, tight, and sexy – epitomizing the early 90s. “It scored her a spot alongside Charles on the front page the next day, a sartorial power play aimed at her unfaithful husband,” explains author Elizebeth Holmes in her book, HRH: So Many Thoughts on Royal Style where she decodes the princesses style.

Relax-fit black dress from Carolina Herrera

LBDs once again transformed after COVID, but not too drastically as, “Post the pandemic people are still looking for fuss-free formal options,” confesses Jaising. Agreeing to this, designer Namrata Joshipura elaborates, “The narrative around LBDs has changed due to the pandemic. We see causal, anti-fit and athleisure forms of LBDs making its mark now. The direction that it will take would be less body fit.”

LBDs bring joy and fashion growth, “As years pass, styles change and what was stylish then may not be now, so prominent fashion houses stay true to their identity but evolve year after year,” says designer Pernia Qureshi. Choices change and to cater to the current needs, designers evolve, “There was a time that skinny -fitted-short-sleeve dresses were classic, but to stay etched to the fashion spectacle, every season there has been a new face of LBDs. Be it sheer dresses, tailored ones or the latest, be playing with shoulder designs. The zeal to create brings joy, and doesn’t let a classic die,” opines designer Rina Dhaka.