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Eternal Style
By Terissa Teh
With Summer now a distant memory behind
us, all boho trends have taken their overdue final bow - in fact boho
no ho should be booed off stage. Thank the Gods of tailoring for a sharper,
cleaner season! This closing month is also a time of reflection on the
year passed with festive parties and party frocks all around. On mention
of the word "dress" there are two statement pieces that spring
to mind.
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'Feel like a woman - wear a dress' was
the slogan that launched Diane von Furstenberg's iconic wrap dress
in New York, 1976. This royal designer created belted wrap front dresses using the best prints. The end result was something that was gorgeous, flattering, practical and sexy. Certainly a rare combination and even more so in a time of post war glamour and it went on to sell a more than successful 5 million pieces. Every iconic design holds its place, the 'Birkin' bag by Hermes and the Yves Saint Laurent 'Smoking Jacket' have made their historic stamps in fashion but there is always something extra special in a dress. Some dresses hold status and respect because they are functional and stylish and have become lifestyle symbols in their own right. |
People want to purchase a slice of these lifestyles and will do anything they can to buy into them. This year the item that has had every premium store's switchboard lit up like a Christmas tree is the Galaxy dress.
The man behind a dress that women are prepared to fall on their knees and beg in tears for is Roland Mouret. He was born 44 years ago and his portfolio includes working for Jean Paul Gaultier as a model, a stylist for French glamour and art director for shoe designer Robert Clergerie. Mouret's first own name collection was born in '98 and 7 years later deservedly won its creator Red Carpet Designer of the Year award at this year's British Fashion Awards.
If a dress had a brain it would be the Galaxy. Apart from sounding like a delicious chocolate bar it is definitely just as smooth: flat panelling on the stomach, a cinched in waist and a carefully engineered interior. The inner secret contains its own grey matter called Powermesh, a genius textile from the Fifties used to create girdles. Voila, a dress that provides every support and holds its wearer in place - absolute genius. Next season's version namely the Titanium has already gained a vast worldwide queue with a four figure dollar price seeming no option.
The impact of any item of clothing is usually accompanied by various fortunate factors. Obviously strength in design goes without saying, but winning the favour of celebrity stylists followed by star studded appearances is generally helpful. And by celebs we're aiming here at more red carpet than Sugababes to reach shining star design status.
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The impact of any item
of clothing is usually accompanied by various fortunate factors.
Obviously strength in design goes without saying, but winning the
favour of celebrity stylists followed by star studded appearances
is generally helpful. And by celebs we're aiming here at more red
carpet than Sugababes to reach shining star design status.
You know you've succeeded when eBay snaps up every remaining original and flogs them at double the full price. Within no less than 48hrs every major high street retail design team will be working hard on their copies to bring the sought after style to the masses. This catapults what might be a less well known designer name into common retail ground. For example on the same day that GMTV breakfast show featured Galaxy replicas, Topshop Oxford Circus and Charing Cross had sold out of every piece in every size by lunch time. Now that's acknowledging style. |
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This season there has been a concentration on embellishment, heavy detailing, sequins and beading but both the wrap and Galaxy have none of these. In fact the elements that make these two the best from the rest is that they are simple, classic, stylish, wearable, practical and desirable. They both suit different body shapes covering a multitude of areas which a lot of dresses do not. By meeting these needs they embrace women instead of alienating those who feel more self conscious, because when you do the maths there are more love handle days in a year than skinny ones.
It is no wonder then that through years of women still hunting vintage shops to gather original wrap dresses, the infamous wrap Diane von Furstenberg re-launched three decades on from the time of its creation.
Yves St. Laurent once said "What a woman needs is a black turtleneck sweater, a straight skirt, and a man to love her."
Maybe in this season "If a woman owns a Galaxy dress, she'll feel everyone loves her"
Sky high priced or not, post or pre war, dressing up has always been and always will be enjoyable. The secret is in super elegance, it will never cease to have women queuing ahead of season. "Fashions pass, style is eternal" said a wise YSL.
Merry Christmas everyone… dress up and dance your way into a very stylish 2006!
Terissa can be contacted at: qt@london.com