Vogue India June 2019













TRACETHETREND

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132 VOGUE INDIA JUNE  http://www.vogue.in

COURTESY SOTHEBY’S; GETTY IMAGES; INDIGITAL MEDIA

From the Rococo fashions of Marie Antoinette, to extravagant ’80s couture by Christian Lacroix, to the

recent eclecticism of Alessandro Michele’s Gucci, fashion history is fi lled with maximal moments. To-

day’s maximalism is a mix of prints and patterns, clashing colours and a play with size, texture and

proportion. However, it can be a trickier way of dressing, requiring thought, strategy, and let’s face it,

confi dence. If not one for head-to-toe, accessories offer an exciting way to play with fashion’s boldest

trend. V ertiginous platform shoes, statement earrings, or an over-the-top hat, maximalist accessories

are daring and make the best “look at me” statements—very suitable for our Instagram culture.

Full impact

Rainbow sandals,

Salvatore Ferragamo

Made by Salvatore

Ferragamo for Judy

Garland in 1938, the

layered, vertiginous

platforms in a rainbow

make them quite the

fashion statement.

Ferragamo re-released

this shoe in 2002, when

maximalism was making

a comeback.

Gold jewellery,

Chanel, autumn/

winter 1991-92

When I think of OTT

jewellery I immediately

think of the thick gold

chain necklaces and

oversized hoop earrings

of ’80s and ’90s hip

hop. Karl Lagerfeld’s

autumn/winter 1991-92

collection for Chanel

drew inspiration from

hip hop and featured

layers of gold chains,

rings and belt jewellery

that screamed excess.

Mock-croc elevated

Gillies platform,

Vivienne Westwood

Shoes have always

gotten the maximalist

treatment. Think of

the extreme platforms

of the ’70s, Giuseppe

Zanotti’s heel-less

platforms or Alexander

McQueen’s Armadillo

shoes from spring 2010.

Vivienne Westwood’s

extreme platform Gillies

(over 10 inches!) from

her autumn/winter

1993-94 Anglomania

collection that Naomi

Campbell famously

took a spill in, making

them even more iconic.

Murakami Speedy

bag, Louis Vuitton

2003’s It bag combined

the overt luxury of the

Speedy with the pop

aesthetic of Takeshi

Murakami—defi nitely a

maximal combination.

The success of this

handbag led to a

13-year collaboration

between Murakami and

Louis Vuitton!

Pheasant claw and

pearl neckpiece,

Shaun Leane For

Alexander McQueen

autumn/winter 2001-

02; chainmail glove,

Shaun Leane

Jewellery designer

Shaun Leane has

produced some of

the most maximalist

jewellery pieces—from

a necklace made of

Tahitian pearls and

pheasant claws to a

chainmail glove that

he made for Daphne

Guinness, an arbiter of

maximalist style.

Princetown mules,

Gucci

Alessandro Michele has

been called the “spiritual

leader” for the current

avatar of maximalism.

I love his treatment of

the classic Princetown

mule—my favourite is the

‘Lamb Fur Bow Mules’.

They are luxurious and a

little ironic.

Triple S sneakers,

Balenciaga

Balenciaga’s Triple S

sneaker has been

so directional in

kick-starting today’s

ugly sneaker frenzy—the

aggressively clunky

silhouette, stacked sole

and US$895 pricetag.

Le Grand Chapeau

Bomba, Jacquemus

Simon Porte

Jacquemus’s massive

straw hat shows that

size is defi nitely a factor

when thinking about

maximalist accessories,

and this hat takes up

substantial space—the

reason why it’s such

an Instagrammable

accessory. ■

Co-curator of Minimalism/Maximalism, Melissa Marra-Alvarez, shares her

timeline of the most ground-breaking, statement-making accessories

The Murakami

Speedy bag by

Louis Vuitton

Shaun Leane’s

otherworldy

body jewellery

Balenciaga’s

‘Triple S’ sneaker

The XL ‘Le Grand

Chapeau Bomba’

hat by Jacquemus

Vivienne Westwood

A/ W ’93-94

Rainbow

platform by

Salvatore

Ferragamo

Alessandro

Michele’s

version of the

‘Princetown’ mule

Chanel’s

hip hop

fashion-

inspired

jewellery

Shaun Leane

jewellery for

Alexander

McQueen

A/ W ’91-92