ON THE FRINGES
Beatrice Campani
What do flapper dresses, cowboy chic and items from the hippie era have in common? One playful detail that had long been relegated to the fancy-dress box: the fringe. After seasons of minimalism, oversize volumes and colorful prints, it’s time for the feature that can give any silhouette a unique sense of movement. From Paris to Milan, designers have re-worked fringes, adapting them to a wide variety of garments and accessories, and experimenting with new proportions and colors.
Miuccia Prada’s ultra-modern interpretation of the trend has sparked multiple conversations: in Prada’s A/W 20-21 collection, fringe details animated blouses, coats, dresses and bags in unexpected ways and with unusual placements. Dresses and sweaters, for instance, had jewelry-like fringes at the neckline; bullion trimmings appeared on the pockets of jackets, and shoes featured small pearls that decorated fringes covering the heel. But it was the skirts that stole the show: some consisted of wider strips of fabric – essentially a blown-up fringe! – others of more traditional, thinner tassel threads, all styled with impeccable tailored jackets.
At Salvatore Ferragamo, Paul Andrews was inspired by the unapologetic glamour of the Roaring Twenties. Skirts and dresses had fringes made from gold thread and decorated with crystals. At Bottega Veneta, creative director Daniel Lee proposed an oversize yellow coat in a cocoon shape with long fringes that touch the floor. The brand’s iconic accessories are in on the trend, too: thus, the signature ‘Intreccio’ weave bag also boasted extremely long leather fringes.
The trend was also present in Boss accessories as well as dresses, such as the elegant mid-length numbers with long silky threads running all over their surface. At Fendi, fringes appeared in a very sensual way, while at Dolce & Gabbana they added oomph to evening dresses; and even some of the austere razor-sharp laser-cut silhouettes by the young designer Gabriele Colangelo were given a Charleston-like sense of motion by long strips.