SHORT CIRCUIT
Liberated dressing comes in many forms but as the world begins the process of reopening, the allure of the party friendly mini-dress has reached fever pitch. By Jonah Waterhouse.
By now, plenty has been said about the collective yearning to dress with joy after almost two years in sartorial limbo. Be it a fear of having taken the ‘B.C.’ (‘Before Covid-19’) years for granted – and reflecting on missed opportunities for joyful dressing in times before lockdowns and mask mandates – recent collections have called for rebellion against conservative, safe style. But among the output from today’s fashion shows, which will surely be studied one day as a way of assessing humanity’s bounce back from a once-in-a-lifetime event, the overarching theme seems as simple as just wanting to have a good time. Herein lies the resurgence of the mini-length party dress: a standout trend from recent collections, which can be chalked up to an inherently human yearning for fun.
We first saw the trend at the autumn/winter ’21/’22 shows, where sensual mini-dresses commanded attention in a season usually resigned to cool-weather apparel; there were glittery asymmetrical minis with torso cut-outs at Bottega Veneta, and the penultimate plunging neckline look at Miu Miu, where the off-piste setting contrasted with the after-midnight outfits (we’ve come to expected the unexpected in 2021).
Naturally, the trend progressed into resort ’22, where it felt like the shorter, the better. Chanel’s sultry, thigh-length LBDs evoked a Parisian nightclub spirit, Versace’s signature dresses were playfully reinvented in latex and bubblegum hues, and Stella McCartney anchored her collection with slinky diamanté and lacedetailed versions underneath trench coats, which were ready to be shed for the dance floor.
A new guard of fresh-faced designers also presented their modern takes on the trend, creating mini-dresses that are as meticulously crafted as they are festive in feeling. Londonbased designer Nensi Dojaka, who won the prestigious LVMH Prize in 2021, has built an entire brand where strikingly simple minidresses take centrestage. “I’d say what I’m doing is sensual, but also really daring,” she says of her work. “I want a woman to wear a sheer, very feminine top with a jacket and pants and go out.” It’s no wonder that Dua Lipa and Bella Hadid, some of fashion’s foremost celebrity endorsers of the modern party dress, have also given Dojaka’s work their invaluable stamps of approval.
New York brand Area’s collections frequently involve mini-dresses and skirts with metallic fringe details that help them appear suspended between fantasy and reality. Designer Maisie Schloss, of label Maisie Wilen, populates her collections with short dresses in vivid colours that yield the same fantasy-like qualities.
“People haven’t had the opportunity to get dressed up in a year, so there’s a lot of built-up desire to get dressed to impress,” she explains.
It’s a sentiment shared by Shannon Thomas, founder of local boutique Désordre that specialises in party-friendly attire. “From the roaring 20s to the post-war era, humans are resilient and tend to bounce back bigger and better than ever,” she reflects. “Now that we see the light at the end of the tunnel, it’s time to pack away the tracksuit pants and start enjoying and celebrating life again.”
Interestingly, Thomas noticed a spike in customers shopping for party dresses in the middle of 2021, when images of Europe and the US reopening started to populate Instagram feeds in Australia while many here were still in lockdown. This light-at-the-end-of-the-tunnel effect inspired “Australian clients to break from the athleisurewear routine and start shopping for when lockdown ended”. As for pieces they’re gravitating towards, Thomas notes the popularity of “vibrant sheen fabrics, metallics, sexy cut-outs, sparkles, [and] crystal scallop and chain detailing”. She argues you can’t go wrong with a sophisticated, well-crafted mini-dress, and cites Christopher Esber and American label Mônot as brands to look for.
If recovering from a difficult past few years has led to a realisation in fashion, it’s that leaving room for a party – including the ones we haven’t been invited to yet – is a foolproof way of lifting our collective spirits. So why not dress for the occasion?
“It’s time to pack away the tracksuit pants and start enjoying and celebrating life again”