THANKS, COCO A whole century of the little black dress It is a symbol of sexual sophistication. Paradoxically, the LBD can be modest and refined while also being bold and seductive. It walks a fine line between politeness and rebelliousness. Forever essential I f there exists any single item of clothing that simul- taneously symbolises elegance, freedom and prac- ticality, that would have to be the little black dress. Known in the global fashion dictionary by its ini- tials, the LBD has spent a full century proving that style is something you should know how to express. Its story begins back in the 1920s, at the moment when women began rejecting rigid social norms and seeking freedom – both in life and in the way they dress. It was in 1926 that Coco Chanel presented her simple, black, straight-cut dress in magazine American Vogue. At a time when black was a colour reserved almost exclu- sively for mourning, this was a radical move. Vogue de- clared it “a dress for the whole world to wear” and de- scribes it as "Chanel’s Ford”, likening the dress to Henry Ford’s Model T car because it was accessible, versatile and intended for all women. The fact is that this dress was the embodiment of modern fashion for the women of the time – loose-fitting, comfortable and relatively plain. Coco offered something that was completely different: a garment that freed the body of constrictive corsets and freed the spirit of expectations. She further explained herself: "When a woman wears a black dress, she is like a blank canvas, everything depends on her." Raised in an orphanage by Catholic nuns, Coco learnt to sew at a tender age. Her humble beginnings in pover- ty and hard work inspired many of her designs. She was designing up to eight hundred pieces a year in the ear- ly 1920s. And then, in 1925, she decided to start borrow- ing from menswear and designed the Chanel suit, on- ly for her long-sleeved black dress to feature on the cover of Vogue in October 1926. “Thanks to me,
Princeza Dajana oborila je 1994. godine svet sa nogu u svojoj čuvenoj „osvetničkoj haljini“ Princess Diana swept the world off its feet in 1994 in her famous “revenge dress”
dizajnirala Kristina Stambolijan, a Elizabet Harli oblači Ver- saćeovu mini-haljinu za premijeru filma „Četiri venčanja i sa- hrana“. Trend se nastavlja – Rijana redefiniše odeću za trud- nice u jesen 2022. godine, u providnoj „Dior“ bebi-dol haljini. Mala crna haljina je izdržala test vremena i tu je da osta- ne. Svaka nova generacija pronalazila je svoj način da je no- si, dodajući modernu opremu: od oversized kaiševa i mini- malnih sandala, do statement nakita i torbi u jarkim bojama. Koko Šanel je uvek naglašavala da je moda prolazna, a stil ve- čan, i upravo je zato osmislila haljinu koja može da se nosi sa nakitom, šeširima, rukavicama i čarapama u kontrastnim bo- jama. Klasik je često kombinovala sa biserima, bilo u sloje- vima, bilo s jednostavnom ogrlicom, što je dodavalo luksuz minimalističkom komadu. Kasnije crni kožni remen, štikle, mala torbica ili rukavice postali su gotovo obavezni detalji, jer su naglašavali liniju i dali lični pečat svakoj ženi.
KOKO Tako je LBD prešla dug put od celog jednog veka, ali uvek ostala elegantna, samouverena i sofisticirana. Šta više može- te poželeti od haljine?
the non-wealthy can walk around like mil- lionaires,” she said. Her concept of luxurious poverty made it clear that true style and ele- gance need not be synonymous with exces- sively expensive fashion.
Tekst / Words: Jelena Pantović Fotografije / Photography: Profimedia.rs
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