Laura Ashley is back. Yes, really
THINK OF LAURA ASHLEY and what comes to mind? Chintzy interiors? Dresses your mum made you wear as a kid? Likely. What you probably do not hear is the Hot Label Alert klaxon. But that would be a mistake.
The quintessential Laura Ashley frock – high-necked, long-sleeved, puff-shouldered, with a pin-tucked bodice, often in a twee wallpaper floral – is the unlikely but compelling contender for the dress of this summer. Bad girls might have more fun; but good girls have the better wardrobe.
Clever shoppers have already set up their ebay alerts and are eagerly trawling Etsy for the originals. But there are plenty of contemporary designers – The Vampire’s Wife, Horror Vacui, Brock Collection, Ganni – offering various iterations of the same Picnic At Hanging Rock meets Sunday-school dress. Selfridges is opening a pop-up dedicated to New York brand Loveshackfancy, which trades in ethereal elegance, this month, while Matchesfashion.com has just launched a capsule of exuberant floral nighties with ’60s Italian brand Loretta Caponi. Lyst reports that searches for ‘prairie dress’ are up 24% since the beginning of April.
Now the Laura Ashley fandom has officially gone mainstream, with Urban Outfitters – the spiritual home of Gen Z festival garb – collaborating with the brand, to create a new nine-piece capsule collection. ‘We collaborated with Laura Ashley to respond to the increased demand for vintage-inspired pieces from our customer,’ explains buying director Malika Zazoule. ‘All of the pieces in the range have been designed in classic Laura Ashley prints, to rework the brand’s aesthetic with a modern-day twist, appealing to a new generation who can experience the world of this sought-after ’90s brand.’
But how do you make the Victorian governess dress look modern? It’s all in the mix. Teaming with a tough boot or Teva sandal firmly locates your look in the 21st century. As the designer Batsheva Hay, outspoken in her admiration for Laura Ashley, explains: ‘I moved a few years ago to the Upper West Side of Manhattan, and it was so interesting to me how so many quirky women in my predominantly Jewish neighbourhood were wearing their old Laura Ashley dresses with white orthopaedic shoes and visors, eating a bagel
and lox at Zabar’s. I loved the contrast of old and new, of urban and country. It feels so modern now to play with those contrasts.’
The appeal of the new-gen Laura Ashley dress is in its everyday ease. ‘The look is very versatile and, for many of our customers, this demure style of dressing is an elegant way to be sexy as it’s less obvious than body-conscious styles, but the silhouette is very flattering,’ says Matchesfashion.com’s fashion and buying director Natalie Kingham. ‘The forgiving silhouettes are a godsend for summer.’ Adds Loretta Caponi creative director Lucia Caponi: ‘As these dresses were meant to be nightgowns, in using these floral printed organic cottons exclusively for Matches, they have become dresses that transition perfectly from country to city to beach, as well as to the comfort of your own home.’
But there’s also a bigger charm to the Laura Ashley renaissance: nostalgia. ‘The Laura Ashley aesthetic is reminiscent of a lot of people’s childhoods,’ observes Natalie. ‘I have fond memories of floral sheets and pillows, and little frocks,’ says Batsheva. ‘Growing up in Queens, New York, it felt so magical and idyllic to have those things in my environment, and the dreaminess of it lingered with me into adulthood.’
In calling to mind bucolic images of bare-foot, sun-kissed innocence, these are love letters to simpler times. In other words, they are the perfect tonic for now.