Left: Cristóbal Balenciaga / Evening coat / Black silk ottoman / 1938-1940, France / Lent by Hamish Bowles
This evening coat by Cristobal Balenciaga alludes to the austerity of priestly black, which inspired the fashion for Spanish black in the sixteenth century.
Right: Jean Paul Gaultier Homme / Man’s long coat / Black wool / Circa 1988, France / 2007.15.12 / Gift of Mark J. Huisman, in memory of Gerald Dupree