Trelise Cooper satin Little Black Dress, 2005

Carolyn Enting, editor, and award-winning feature writer describes this as a "dress I can't part with". This Trelise Cooper black satin cocktail dress from 2005 is a quintessential LBD, and was worn to a NZFW opening, as well as Australian Fashion Week, where she recalls garnering a lot of attention from designers at the event. 

This was a favourite for many other social gatherings, with its classic styling reminiscent of classic cocktail dresses of the 1960s, featuring a voluminous ruffle as a shelf bust detail, contrasting with an otherwise fitted and slim silhouette. This was often paired with a Laurie Foon black satin jacket (pictured).

Details

Photographer: Denise Baynham
Credit: Garment loan courtesy of Carolyn Enting
Copyright: Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0 Licence
Credit: Scan courtesy of Carolyn Enting, The Dominion Post, May 2, 2006
Copyright: Image © Carolyn Enting
Credit: Photograph courtesy of Carolyn Enting, April 2006
Copyright: Image © Carolyn Enting
Designer: Trelise Cooper
Garment type: black cocktail dress
Material: Black satin
Features: Ruffle detail at bust out of self fabric, diamanté embellishment
Colour: Black
Purchase location: Unity Collection, Customhouse Quay, Wellington
Last published: Faberuary 2025
Label: Trelise Cooper
Date: 2005