Editor’s Note: Featuring the good, the bad and the ugly, ‘Look of the Week’ is a regular series dedicated to unpacking the most talked about outfit of the last seven days.
On Thursday night, a throng of glamorous A-listers descended onto the corner of East 57th Street and 5th Avenue to celebrate the grand reopening of Tiffany & Co.’s flagship store in New York. The 10-floor limestone building, originally erected in the early 1940’s, hopes to re-establish itself as a landmark of Manhattan after a four-year architectural revamp.
Out on the robin-egg blue carpet, there wasn’t a croissant nor a cigarette holder in sight — but the vision was still clear as day. It was the night of the little black dress (LBD) — championed by models Hailey Bieber, Nicola Peltz Beckham, actors Gal Gadot, Bruna Marquezine and Gold medal-winning skier Eileen Gu (among others). The army of inky cocktail dresses were, of course, in reference to Blake Edward’s 1961 film “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,” and Audrey Hepburn’s elegant on-screen uniform of a slinky black satin gown.
At the celebration, every rendition of the LBD was unique. Bieber’s otherwise classic black midi pencil dress, hot off the Versace Fall-Winter 2023 runway, featured a space-age inverted moon neckline and chunky, tube-shaped straps. Her manicure matched the color of a Tiffany’s jewelry box. “Hailey Golightly,” wrote one fan on Instagram.
At first glance, Gadot’s strapless black velvet cocktail number looks like an innocuous 1950s hoop-skirted gown — until you catch her profile. The opening look from Loewe’s Spring-Summer 2023 show, Gadot’s frock juts out at the hips to form two corners, resulting in a rigid silhouette that mimics the appearance of a concealed cardboard box.
Most wearers were concerned with updating the timeless cocktail attire: Gu and Peltz Beckham, for example, modernized their LBDs with dramatic side splits, additional bow flourishes and barely-there spaghetti straps. But Marquezine opted for a more faithful iteration — digging into the Yves Saint Laurent archive to do so. Her Fall-Winter 1983 haute couture gown featured a drop waist, asymmetrical tulle skirt and a strapless velvet bodice.
The most notable LBD, as worn by Hepburn when playing the role of Holly Golightly, was created by Hubert de Givenchy and costume designer Edith Head. But black, mid-length and fitted had long been the formula for achieving subtle, understated sex appeal. Created by Coco Chanel in the 1920s, Vogue dubbed the original LBD (a knee-length dress made from crepe de Chine) “Chanel’s Ford” in prediction of its enormous success. The concept spread across storied fashion houses such as Dior and Givenchy in the mid 20th century.
Over a century later, the time-honored garment lives on through fresh takes, reimaginings and designers looking to subverting expectations. The LBD is its own sartorial landmark — full of a rich history, but always open to visitors.
Top image: Gal Gadot wears Loewe at the grand reopening of the Tiffany & Co. NYC Flagship store, 2023.
