FASHION SAYS RELAX
SUITING ARRIVES IN NEW SHAPES AND SORBET HUES – WE EXPLORE HOW THE WORKWEAR STAPLE SOFTENED FOR SS19
Suiting softens up for SS19 – think sorbet shades and easy shapes. Here’s how to style it
‘Suits… they’re not becoming for any woman!’ That was the reaction of a critic writing for Movie Classic magazine in the Thirties in response to the women of Hollywood wearing slacks on-screen. History had other ideas, however – Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo and Katharine Hepburn are still part of the collective conscious today.
Thankfully, almost a century later, women wearing suits has gone from controversial to commonplace. We’ve seen Bianca Jagger swap bridal wear for a white tux, Saint Laurent’s iconic ‘Le Smoking’ (and a million knock-offs), Hillary Clinton’s pantsuit army and Lady Gaga advocating that the suit belongs to all genders. But only recently has the suit shaken off its ‘borrowed from the boys’ shtick.
There was a new sense of freedom for SS19, as suiting incorporated more skirt lengths, shorts (cycling and city) and trousers – in some cases, worn at the same time (especially in New York, at Sies Marjan and Matthew Adams Dolan). Blazers came single- and double-breasted, fastened with knots rather than buttons at Gabriela Hearst or stripped of traditional tailoring tropes (lapels, structure, fastenings), as at Balenciaga. The lower half, too, was mostly relaxed, with shorts, or ‘slacks’ that rest at the hips and pool at the ankles.
‘I call it “neo-tailoring”,’ says Balenciaga’s creative director Demna Gvasalia. ‘Something new that is actually comfortable. A little softer; there are no shoulder pads or epaulettes.’ It reflects the informality seen with the recent chunky trainer reboot and the popularity of ‘luxury’ track pants. ‘It feels like a jogging suit. That’s important for dressing the new generation,’ says Gvasalia.
It makes all kinds of sense and is, arguably, a logical transition as conversations on gender politics play out in public. News around #MeToo and the Kavanaugh trial, which dominated the headlines during the September shows, made us increasingly aware of the power dynamic between men and women, and the importance of feeling at ease – in and out of the workplace.
‘The suit is becoming more relaxed,’ agrees Elizabeth von der Goltz, global buying director
at Net-A-Porter. The newness, she maintains, is that spring’s sculptural styles are more attuned to the shape of the female body. It’s hardly surprising, given many are designed by women such as Victoria Beckham and Stella McCartney, and are created to feel comfortable, rather than restrictive or corporate. ‘You don’t need an occasion to wear them anymore,’ says von der Goltz. ‘Tailoring now fits into a woman’s everyday wardrobe.’
We’re also breathing a collective sigh of relief as there’s less pressure to appear formal. Only one in ten people in the UK now wear a ‘classic’ suit to work*. Suits have slipped into social settings; we’re wearing blazers to go out-out and tailored trousers to grab coffee. The boundaries between office and out-of-hours dressing have blurred. ‘I wouldn’t restrict a suit to the obvious occasions,’ says Otegha Uwagba, founder of Londonbased community Women Who, who owns a wardrobe of trousers in myriad shapes and prefers wrap-fasten suit jackets. ‘Wearing a suit indicates you’re making an effort. That doesn’t need to mean formal.’
Forget the traditional palette, too: spring’s louche suiting comes in every colour, from Starburst shades to muted sorbet hues to retina-burning neons. Amy Smilovic, creative director at Tibi, has been exploring colourful, laissezfaire suiting for some time. But for SS19, she went all out, with soothing pastels, citrus shades and classic black and camel. ‘Colour is super-important,’ she says. ‘It feels fresh and new. When you’re wearing a sharply tailored, babypink blazer, that feels strong for a woman.’ This clearly resonates, as Tibi now boasts 2OO stockists worldwide and has a number of high-profile fans, including Amal Clooney and Alicia Vikander. ‘Coloured suits have been doing increasingly well, particularly over the past two years,’ adds von der Goltz. Which means this is more than a fleeting one-season trend.
Whatever the context, and whatever your mood, there’s endless choice to cater to character and comfort. In 2O19, women wear the trousers (and skirts at the same time, if they choose). That’s the point, isn’t it? We can choose. A woman in tailoring is no longer ‘androgynous’.
“WE WEAR BLAZERS OUT-OUT AND TAILORING TO GRAB COFFEE – THE BOUNDARIES HAVE BLURRED ”