"Night" Installation View

Night explores the symbolism of black. The gothic color par excellence, black has long been associated with death, danger, and evil, but also with mystery, elegance, and eroticism. If the devil is the Prince of Darkness, the dandy is the Black Prince of Elegance. Far from the anodyne Little Black Dress, the fashions in this section of the exhibition seem appropriate for the femme fatale and the dandy vampire aristocrat.

"Obscurity is vertiginous. . . . When the eye sees black, the spirit sees trouble. . . . In the night, even the strong feel anxious."
~ Victor Hugo, Les Miserables