History of the LBD

© Editions Assouline

The 80s-style LBD is making a big appearance on the catwalk for spring-summer 2007 at Lagerfeld. It's been a firm fixture on the catwalk for almost a century, has been through some turbulent times and has reinvented itself constantly. It turned Audrey Hepburn, Catherine Deneuve, Marlene Dietrich, Romy Schneider and countless others into fashion immortals. 

Every haute couture designer has their own version of the LBD, which has itself become a style signature of the designer: Balenciaga's is elegant, Mugler's futuristic, Galliano's daring and Prada's classic. 

Little Black Dress, LBD, Petite Robe Noire...these days it's an instantly recognisable acronym. But because it's so laden with history and it reinvents itself more often than Madonna, we never seem to tire of it.