Exploring the Femme Fatale: How does the Little Black Dress paint the modern female persona?

Abstract

Coco Chanel's initially designed the iconic Little Black Dress in the 1920s, and the fashion industry has since reproduced and reinvented its characteristics. This paper aims to explore the nuances of how modern ideas of feminism interact with the femme fatale identity associated with the LBD through both affirmation and disagreement. I begin by establishing the traditional French roots of the femme fatale persona using literary work and appropriate cultural context. The LBD's evolution is then presented with an exhibition in the MoMa, and paired with Audrey Hepburn's American reinterpretation and Princess Diana's revenge dress. The classic painting the Birth of Venus and Plato's philosophies are used to explain the possible hypersexual direction of the evolution. The modern LBD is shown through a dress from the fashion chain Aritzia, which demonstrates current issues such as consumerism and objectification of the female body. This paper ultimately reveals how fashion can both mirror widespread cultural beliefs during its time, and provoke social change with its implications.