Black outfits from ‘little black dress’ to leather and latex take centre stage
Cocktail dresses and cuttingedge catwalk creations will be brought together with punk and fetish outfits for a major new fashion exhibition at Scotland’s busiest visitor attraction.
Work by Coco Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent, Dior and Jean Muir will be going on display at the National Museum in Edinburgh in a show reflecting how the colour black has shaped trends and reflected changing lifestyles over the last century.
The 2023 show, which will open for the city’s summer festivals season, will look at the “radical power” of the colour black in fashion.
More than 60 different outfits will chart the history of the “little black dress” since Chanel’s groundbreaking design in 1926, recall how it became “a symbol of femininity and a byword for chic” and explore its relationship to race, gender and sexuality.
The exhibition, Beyond the Little Black Dress, will also highlight the work of leading black British designers.
The official announcement on the exhibition states: “The colour black can be interpreted in many subtle and often contradictory ways.
“The exhibition will explore how its complexities have made the little black dress simultaneously expressive of piety and perversion, respect and rebellion; from the wellmannered cocktail attire of the early 20th century to the leather and latex worn by members of punk and fetish subcultures.
”Beyond the Little Black Dress will open with a simple, short black dress designed by Coco Chanel in 1926.
"Considered radically modern, it disregarded convention entirely in both the stark design and sombre shade that had traditionally been associated with mourning.
“The little black dress remains a blank canvas for broader political and cultural
shifts. It can challenge social norms around race, gender and sexuality to reflect evolving ideals of beauty and identity, proving its infinite capacity for reinvention.”
Georgina Ripley, principal curator of modern and contemporary design at the National Museum, said: “Few garments are as iconic as the little black dress, which has often been held up by the fashto
ion industry as the one piece every woman should have in her wardrobe. It has evolved dramatically in the century since its creation.
"From a simple shift dress which helped democratise women’s fashion to a bold political statement, it has moved through various iterations which reflect changing ideals of beauty and body image.
"This exhibition will explore
its enduring success, and ask why, in the fickle and fastpaced fashion world, the little black dress has achieved that rare status of being truly above the fray.”
The next major exhibition to open at the National Museum will be devoted to Doctor Who and the science behind the long-running science-fiction series.
Visitors will get the chance
come face-to-face with some of The Doctor’s most celebrated enemies including Daleks, Cybermen and Weeping Angels.
Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder will run from 9 December till 1 May ahead of the debut of Ncuti Gatwa as The Doctor in 2023 – the 60th anniversary of the show.