Legacy of the Past: Fashion History Echoes, n’est pas? Part 3

The longstanding opinion that fashion is complex and might be even painful doesn’t stand any longer. With athleisure and home wear as outwear, those concepts are not on the agenda of millennials ways of dressing. However, the historical influences of the past are intelligibly visible in the present-day collections.

Let’s have another look at the references of the past that we observe nowadays. See also part 1 and part 2 on this topic.

Cage skirts from the Victorian era are still making their not rare appearances on the runway and eventually on a red carpet. The 1800s crinoline, also called a hoop skirt or extension skirt, was inspired by the open cage or frame style of the 16th and 17th-century farthingale and the 18th-century pannier. The Victorian crinoline developed various appearances over its fashion lifetime due to new designs and methods of manufacture.

The crinoline has allowed John Galliano, another keen student of history, to experiment with extreme volume. More recently, Thom Browne’s deconstructions have revealed the architectural and cage-like aspects of this silhouette shaper. The visual impact of the crinoline is undeniable, and there is plenty of proof of it in recent designs.

Virgil Abloh, Louis Vuitton’s creative director and his own label Off-White, reinvents the concept of hoop skirts in his collections. The idea reinforced Abloh’s pursuit of high fashion. And Off-White tops the list of the hottest brands in recent years.

The new reinvents the old and fashion influences of the past will continue to inspire future generations of designers for years to come.

To be continued…