RISING TO THE OCCASION

With so much time spent giving ourselves permission to dress down, fashion has thrown a curve ball: going out is back, and it requires both effort and an appropriate wardrobe. By Alice Birrell.

With so much time spent giving ourselves permission to dress down, fashion has thrown a curve ball: going out is back, and it requires both effort and an appropriate wardrobe.

At last look, Instagram posts tagged with #JOMO – or joy of missing out – numbered 118,000. Meanwhile #FOMO (fear of missing out, for those who may have missed just a little too much in the last few years) surpassed this four-fold, with a total 526,000 posts. An ongoing battle has been brewing on internet listicles and in agonised texts between friends: should I stay in, or should I go out? What’s weighing on us heavily on social media could be hinting at a little truth: when we’re tempted to turn off all notifications, we might actually have more fun when we go out. And no wonder. Several scientific studies have revealed that the quality of our social interactions are one of our single biggest health predictors – one found that those with stronger social relationships had a 50 per cent increased likelihood of survival. Meanwhile, the rise of JOMO gave us permission to cancel plans, relish flaking out, indulge self-interests and decrease our sociability. Fashion kept up. Cashmere hoodies, pyjama dressing, slides and ‘ugly’ shoes were pervasive. Athleisure still remains one of the top searches on Lyst, with Nike a frontrunner brand.

But what if, in our efforts to look so extremely effortless, we have ended up looking like we just don’t care? “We may finally have reached saturation point for dressing down,” says Morgane Le Caer, fashion insights reporter at Lyst. “While streetwear and athleisure are still proving popular, categories like hats, tights, hair clips, delicate jewellery and kitten heels, as well as feminine prairie and mini-dresses, have recently been enjoying an increase in demand.” She cites the unapologetic ballgowns, 70s decadence and electric colours of the autumn/winter ’19/’20 runways as further evidence. “Dressing up is once again being seen as something that is exciting.”

Blame Pierpaolo Piccioli. The Valentino creative director has been credited with single-handedly moving the needle. At the

Valentino spring/summer ’19 couture show in January, a crucial turning point was made with the resumption of beauty for beauty’s sake. It even brought some to tears. Swirling wallpaper prints in shades of strawberry and sugared almond, taffeta in gargantuan tiers that swallowed the runway and soft coral silk faille wafted by. “You have given women back their beauty,” Céline Dion cried to the creative director backstage.

Once this set things in motion, designers started exploring their dressier after-dark repertoires for autumn/winter ’19/’20. At Paco Rabanne, Julien Dossena embraced the evening dress. A star-spangled velvet midi came out alongside silken midis that could have hung in the wardrobes of Vivien Leigh and Ava Gardner, then sparkling mesh overlays, crystal earrings and sequins were sprinkled throughout. At Erdem, evening gloves and ostrich feather pouches accompanied lace sheaths and operatic coats. Elsewhere, Christopher Kane strung necklines with glittering strands, and Marc Jacobs crafted red-carpetready trapeze dresses heaving under feathers and frills.

But aside from the natural pendulum swing, what else is at play? Have we all simply decided to dust ourselves off and get out there again? Australian-born Vanessa Cocchiaro of Parisian-based occasionwear label Les Héroïnes says that while social occasions may or may not be more numerous, there’s a panopticon effect at work; with the advent of smartphone cameras, we all know we’re more likely than not to be seen.

“Women have a lot more engagements to go to where they will be photographed,” she says. “Even a small cocktail event will be on social media, so women are more conscious of this.” Her label, of minimal, flattering fluid dresses and separates, was originally meant for bridesmaids but quickly evolved in the face of demand into bridal, wedding guests and general going out.

The evolution of what were once single-day or night events into multi-moment schedules might also have contributed to the rise of labels made with dressing up in mind. What was once a single wedding day is now a roster of engagement parties, civil ceremonies, rehearsal dinners, recovery lunches and the actual event itself, points out Cocchiaro. With occasion dressing so amorphous, she says, women are no longer waiting to dress up. “No excuse is necessary; women want to feel empowered and confident.”

It is something that Elizabeth von der Goltz, global buying director at Net-A-Porter, notices too. “We see that women nowadays love to dress up for work, to dinner to cocktails …,” she notes. “We are seeing a new era where sophisticated, sexy and statement silhouettes are the rule, bringing back the day when dressing-up was a joy. Eveningwear becomes cool again.” She cites labels like Alexandre Vauthier, Rasario and newcomers for the luxury website such as Redemption, Burnett New York and Fannie Schiavoni, whose mesh and chain-mail dresses have been worn by Miley Cyrus, Rihanna and Bella Hadid, for her birthday party. Von der Goltz says true party dresses are in high demand, with sky-high hems, slits and naked backs selling well.

It’s a desire also served by Ibizan label De La Vali, now based in London and whose initial designs were worn by night owls Kate Moss and Cara Delevingne. “We embrace the fun element of dressing up, and the joy this can bring. We both grew up in Ibiza, so a lot of our initial inspiration came from the island’s hedonistic, bohemian surroundings,” explains Jana Sascha Haveman, who along with Laura Castro founded the label. And no doubt from the dancing, too. Their frilled, bias-cut mini- and maxi-dresses

in a plethora of prints from zebra to polka dot are designed with the club or bar in mind. “Most of our styles look their best in action on the dance floor. Especially our long flowy numbers with frills or ruffles … if you get tired of your long trail we often put in a little hook and eye that you hitch the dress up with.”

Heading out and letting go creates a special kind of escapism, which is gaining more appeal in a tumultuous time (consider Iranian tensions with an easily agitated President of the United States) and designers are naturally indulging in decadent details. Footwear designer Amina Muaddi sees her crystal slingback and strappy sandals lifting women up. “I think sometimes we need it for our morale,” she says. “I recently had an event in-store with one of my retail partners and all my clients came wearing my shoes, looking glamorous and feeling confident, and I loved that.”

Bienen-Davis, an American brand of heirloom minaudières that was founded in 1931 but closed in the 1970s, has just been revived by its fourth-generation guardian Richard Bienen. Creative director Meredith German sees making an effort and looking the part as a form of expression. “Dressing up is a style that tells people who you are at first sight,” she says. Their top-handle Régine bag, named after doyenne of nightlife Régine Zylberberg and self-dubbed Queen of the Night, comes in luxurious calfskin, with metal dipped in 24-karat gold. If a bag can represent an individual, who doesn’t want to put forward their best, 24-karat plated selves?

And while whimsical feather puff-ball dresses and precious metal clutches don’t come cheap, the current market shows that there is serious mileage in dressing with a luxurious over-thetop bent. Jenny Child (née Cermak), is partner at McKinsey and Company, whose annual report on the state of fashion, produced in conjunction with the Business of Fashion, indicated the segment that experienced the most growth for the financial year 2018–19 was luxury. This was over all other categories, including affordable, mid-market and premium and bridge segments. What’s more, Child doesn’t see it slowing.

“Much of the luxury segment’s growth will continue to be fuelled by fast-growing Asia-Pacific economies and the continuing boom in global travel,” she says pointing to China, which although slowing is still a leading luxury market, and India, whose middle class is ever-growing. She notes that in China, young people invest in luxury pieces as a way “to convey and enjoy a shared social experience”.

All this – beautiful clothes of supreme quality with an irreverent flair – converges with dressing up to go out, a sentiment shared by Piccioli, who spoke of a desire to bring people together. “I mean something different from ‘lifestyle’, which is about owning objects. It’s about people who share values,” he told Vogue Runway. When we commune, at bars, at restaurants, dressed-up for one another, respecting the occasion, appreciating the effort each other has put in, to be there, and dress smartly; isn’t this what it is all about? Dossena put it best when he said his brand of evening glamour was about “how you uplift yourself through dress”. Bring in the sequins, banish the #FOMO. You won’t have anything to fear if you just head out.

“We are seeing a new era where sophisticated, sexy silhouettes are the rule, bringing back the day when dressing-up was a joy”