The October 1926 edition of Vogue marked a monumental shift in fashion history, and arguably one of the most important of all time: the introduction of Coco Chanel’s little black dress (LBD for short). Nowadays, few deny admiration for the genius of Chanel. But, in her time, she represented a threat not only to the confines of the corset, but to the male-dominated realms of society and fashion as it were.
Chanel’s small-yet-mighty weapon enabled the common woman to break free from whalebone corsets and heavy tulle that restricted her every move, further propelling her to embrace everyday comfort and practicality. Today, Chanel’s vision is celebrated across the globe, and most likely resides in every reader’s closet. Yet, without Chanel, fashion and society would quite literally never be the same.
Only A Woman…
Before Chanel was the first to give the LBD its high fashion debut, black dresses were reserved for “widows and religious figures.” However, Chanel envisioned life without the hindrance of tulle and whalebone. One where she could don a pair of functional trousers, a dress that suited day and evening, and one where her personality could project beyond her dress (without acquiring a disapproving eye). Ironically, these advancements weren’t a fantastical dream; they were, in fact, moving to meet the new age of womanhood. Fashion, or rather the men behind it, was simply behind.
A Modern Vision…
The early 1900’s saw the emergence of the “femme moderne” (modern woman) introduced by two publications: La Vie Heureuse and Femina. As technologies like cars and bikes progressed, so did women’s career opportunities, sporting events, and even small fashion innovations like the “healthy corset.”
Women were pictured roller skating, climbing mountains in trousers, and even driving. A 1905 cover of Femina illustrated a working woman who had it all: under her university grad gown, she was “wearing a lovely red dress that fit simply under her robe.”
(Note: at this point, in 1906, the “King of Fashion” (Poiret) would become known for his disavowal of the corset.)
This “modern” vision allowed a woman the graces of both worlds: “femininity and feminism.” Despite evident clashes with fashion’s frivolous Belle Époque age of balls, charity functions, art shows, and attitudes of “more is more”, the femme moderne would soon see a sudden opportunity to assert its prominence following the start of the First World War (1914-18).
It’s a Man’s World; But Chanel is not Living in It…
A clear trajectory was set for Chanel, aligning with the femme moderne. She would then open her first boutique on the beaches of Deauville in 1913. Here, Chanel debuted one of her many revolutions: jersey fabric, an innovation that increased flexibility and movement. All roads seemed to lead toward progressing women’s dress, but (unsurprisingly) the men would soon get in the way.
At this point, the war had proven women were capable of advancing into men’s traditional roles; however, postwar attitudes toward women’s dress were not all that progressive. Poiret’s famous dispute over Chanel’s LBD was fashion’s final attempt to maintain the status quo.
Although Poiret had led the move away from the corset as early as 1906, when he returned from the war to find femme moderne in full swing, his attitudes opposed the new attitude Chanel was all about. The two ateliers’ infamous exchange is recorded as follows:
“In a story, probably apocryphal, of a chance encounter between Poiret and Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel in the 1920s, Poiret inquired of the black-clad Chanel, ‘For whom, madame, do you mourn?’ to which Chanel replied, ‘For you, monsieur.’”
Whether the exchange was apocryphal or not, Poiret ultimately resisted the practicality that Chanel’s LBD followed (and he himself had previously promoted), and thus his great fashion innovations faded in the wake of Coco Chanel’s modern woman. Karl Lagerfeld, Yves St. Laurent (1966 Le Smoking), and Giorgio Armani acted as key successors to Chanel’s vision. Many have continued the vision, including Yves St. Laurent (1966 Le Smoking) and, more recently, Matthieu Blazy. Yet, the bright innovation and genius of Coco Chanel wouldn’t dim, not even to this day.
And The Men Were Dumbfounded…
Seemingly, it would have been more logical for the “King of Fashion” (at the time of the LBD’s introduction to higher society) to modernize along with Chanel’s LBD revolution. Yet something stronger pulled him back—“his belief that freedom in dress was to be found in styles that either predated or were outside the contemporary fashion system.” This unusual turn of events might better contextualize the fight Coco Chanel was up against and continues to this day. Poiret was holding on to the past, and further, to the societal and culturally established norms that women’s dress upheld. Yet when has high fashion existed to restrain progress, to work against culture, or to exist statically? As Anna Wintour says, “fashion is a reflection of the time.”
Accordingly, Chanel’s LBD reflected a vital step toward women’s progress—a revolution still being fought, and one that unsurprisingly dumbfounded the men.