audrey hepburn givenchy black dress Givenchy, Hubert de. (1927–2018) The Little Black Dress

"Hubert de Givenchy was that rare designer whose work reached everyone from fashion aficionados to the casual observer. It defined an era. It helped to create the foundation for what it means to be a fashion icon. His work told the story of glamorous sophistication, female rebellion and the complexities of beauty and desire.  He achieved this remarkable feat with a single little black satin dress worn by Audrey Hepburn in the opening sequence of 1961’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” From the front, the dress was simple enough: sleek and sleeveless with a flattering bateau neckline. From the back, it was dynamic, sexy and utterly sophisticated with its geometric cutouts and the alluring way it framed the nape of the neck.  That moment in that dress tells the audience a lot about Hepburn’s character, Holly Golightly. For one thing, it’s a cocktail dress — an evening dress — and there she is standing on the street peering into the store window with her breakfast. She has been out all night and she does not look wrecked. In fact, she looks splendid.  The dress is not easy to wear. It follows the curves of the body. It reveals the arms. But it’s not a dress that constrains a woman. It requires effort but not sacrifice. The dress is special. It makes a woman want to slink about, controlled and teasing. It’s possible to envision it on all sorts of shapes — slim, like Hepburn, but also curvy. And it looks as perfect in 2018 as it did 50 years ago.  Givenchy didn’t invent the little black dress, but he gave it its enduring cachet. He infused it with meaning beyond the practical and versatile. The dress represented a lifestyle: glamorous, reckless, defiant, urbane. It was Holly Golightly’s dress. She was complicated and sad, confounding and charming. She was not Everywoman. She was exceptional, which is what every woman wants to be.  And her signature dress was wondrous." (Robin Givhan, "What Givenchy knew before the rest of us about the power of a little black dress," Washington Post, 3/12/18)