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Valentino spring/summer ’19 couture show in January, a crucial
turning point was made with the resumption of beauty for beauty’s
sake. It even brought some to tears. Swirling wallpaper prints in
shades of strawberry and sugared almond, taffeta in gargantuan tiers
that swallowed the runway and soft coral silk faille wafted by. “You
have given women back their beauty,” Céline Dion cried to the creative
director backstage.
Once this set things in motion, designers started exploring their
dressier after-dark repertoires for autumn/winter ’19/’20. At Paco
Rabanne, Julien Dossena embraced the evening dress. A star-spangled
velvet midi came out alongside silken midis that could have hung in the
wardrobes of Vivien Leigh and Ava Gardner, then sparkling mesh
overlays, crystal earrings and sequins were sprinkled throughout. At
Erdem, evening gloves and ostrich feather pouches accompanied lace
sheaths and operatic coats. Elsewhere, Christopher Kane strung
necklines with glittering strands, and Marc Jacobs crafted red-carpet-
ready trapeze dresses heaving under feathers and frills.
But aside from the natural pendulum swing, what else is at play?
Have we all simply decided to dust ourselves off and get out there
again? Australian-born Vanessa Cocchiaro of Parisian-based occasion-
wear label Les Héroïnes says that while social occasions may or may
not be more numerous, there’s a panopticon effect at work; with the
advent of smartphone cameras, we all know we’re more likely than
not to be seen.
“Women have a lot more engagements to go to where they will be
photographed,” she says. “Even a small cocktail event will be on social
media, so women are more conscious of this.” Her label, of minimal,
flattering fluid dresses and separates, was originally meant for
bridesmaids but quickly evolved in the face of demand into bridal,
wedding guests and general going out.
The evolution of what were once single-day or night events into
multi-moment schedules might also have contributed to the rise of
labels made with dressing up in mind. What was once a single wedding
day is now a roster of engagement parties, civil ceremonies, rehearsal
dinners, recovery lunches and the actual event itself, points out
Cocchiaro. With occasion dressing so amorphous, she says, women are
no longer waiting to dress up. “No excuse is necessary; women want
to feel empowered and confident.”
It is something that Elizabeth von der Goltz, global buying director at
Net-A-Porter, notices too. “We see that women nowadays love to dress
up for work, to dinner to cocktails ...,” she notes. “We are seeing a new
era where sophisticated, sexy and statement silhouettes are the rule,
bringing back the day when dressing-up was a joy. Eveningwear
becomes cool again.” She cites labels like Alexandre Vauthier, Rasario
and newcomers for the luxury website such as Redemption, Burnett
New York and Fannie Schiavoni, whose mesh and chain-mail dresses
have been worn by Miley Cyrus, Rihanna and Bella Hadid, for her
birthday party. Von der Goltz says true party dresses are in high
demand, with sky-high hems, slits and naked backs selling well.
It’s a desire also served by Ibizan label De La Vali, now based in London
and whose initial designs were worn by night owls Kate Moss and Cara
Delevingne. “We embrace the fun element of dressing up, and the joy this
can bring. We both grew up in Ibiza, so a lot of our initial inspiration came
from the island’s hedonistic, bohemian surroundings,” explains Jana
Sascha Haveman, who along with Laura Castro founded the label. And no
doubt from the dancing, too. Their frilled, bias-cut mini- and maxi-dresses