High flyers
A shift towards more laidback dress codes sees sport-influenced designs winning the race on and off the runway.
The perennial ups and downs of fashion make way for intriguing commentary: sales of red lipstick were once said to indicate the economy’s health, while abbreviated hemlines coincided with the rise of the women’s movement. With sportswear’s pervasive presence in our wardrobes it’s the diminishing of dress codes; our work and leisure lives have become further intertwined – a sign of a generation’s search for self- improvement and actualisation. Better, faster, stronger.
The concept of incorporating sportswear into fashion has evolved incrementally. Tricked-up sneakers with silken slip dresses are old hat, and we know about wearing bomber jackets with pleated skirts – we rely on sportswear elements to add
that clever quirk. Nicolas Ghesquière has a lot to answer for: his use of neoprene at Balenciaga spurred the fabric to become de rigueur, and now the ripple effect of his work at Louis Vuitton – focused on athleticism and women’s urban wardrobes – has taken over on the runways. Louis Vuitton’s parachute dress (fashion loves a buzzword), thanks to its light nylon-esque gathered shape, is a fresh take on fashion’s athletic spirit. Three female designers embraced this spirit for spring/summer ’17. At Versace, the parka was wrapped and ruched around the body, so the take was concertedly more body contouring – well, you wouldn’t expect any less from Donatella Versace. For her last collection at Marni, Consuelo Castiglioni emphasised the luxuriously voluminous shapes afforded by nylon, micro-pleating it for balloon sleeves in a modern interpretation of couture silhouettes, a technique also appropriated at Stella McCartney. It bucks against the idea that an athletic mood needs to be skintight and #bodyconfident – fashion now is all about pro-choice. The shapes shown by these designers were articulated with drawstrings, giving the garment wearer interaction, encouraging convertibility. Make what you want of it – literally. Zara Wong