BRINGING SEXY BACK
Denims get a seductive upgrade, and we’ve got Guess to thank for these covetable classics. By Vanessa Lim.
In the ’80s and all through the ’90s, mom jeans defined the waistlines of the decade. Tori Spelling as Donna Martin on Beverly Hills, 90210 made it a cast uniform, turning it into the trend of the decade, whilst supermodel Cindy Crawford highlighted its sex appeal in Fair Game. Then, Georges Marciano elevated the allAmerican staple to new heights by introducing the very first designer jeans. Even with a USD60 price tag, Marciano’s European-style denim flew off the shelves at Bloomingdales, signalling a new dawn for denim. Sex sells, and that’s exactly what Georges had counted on. Consider the Guess Girl campaigns, ingeniously masterminded by Paul Marciano. Claudia Schiffer, the German model who starred in six different campaigns between 1989 and 1991, posed in nothing but a black lace bustier in one of them. Or Eva Herzigova, whose resemblance to Marilyn Monroe landed her a spot in Guess’s 1992 campaign, where the Czech model was propelled to superstardom. Taking it even further, Paul also tapped the sensuous Anna Nicole Smith in the same year to be a Guess Girl, at a time when no one dared. In this regard, you can bet that the Guess Girl is always at the centre of attention, embodying freedom, passion, and wonder. It came as no surprise then, that the American label had enlisted model-of-the-moment Hailey Baldwin to replace Gigi Hadid as its latest poster girl. Without shying away from today’s cultural icons, and also continuing in the vein of featuring young talents, this year’s Guess Originals collection engages A$AP Rocky’s brilliance. Think utilitarian fabrics fused with new silhouettes and innovative washes, such as the 1981 skinny and baggy high-waisted jeans, reformulated dungarees, and oversized pencil skirts. All these illustrate the signature triangle logo on the back pocket, also seen on tailored denim bustiers, cropped logo embossed shirt jacket, long line vests, and shirt dresses. However, Guess’s signature brand of seduction remains intact in the form of its lace-up body suits and dresses, where rich evening hues and form-fitting designs take centre stage.
Guess reinvented its 1981 slim-tapered carpenter jeans, shrunken Sherpa jackets, and oversized pieces in vintage washes, while leather placements add a hint of BDSM to an everyday wardrobe.
Giving new life to conventional denims, Guess reappropriated silhouettes from the ’80s and ’90s, while injecting the brand’s urban edge. Denim corsets paired with high-rise tapered jeans—why not? As they say, nothing feels as good as sexy does.