English Version | Advocating the right to sparkle

10 Feb 2022
By Ana Murcho

Whether it is day or night. Because the best time to wear sequin, is always.

Whether it is day or night. Because the best time to wear sequin, is always.

Photography by Jamie Nelson. Styling by Karen Levitt.
Photography by Jamie Nelson. Styling by Karen Levitt.

I’m sure that that day last August, the day the temperature rose above 30 degrees, the people that passed by me on the street must’ve thought something like: “Poor thing. She’s insane. This god awful heat and she’s dressed like that.” I won’t judge them - even though I know they don’t return the courtesy. After all, the temperatures were incredibly hot, it would be expected to roam the city in little more than a linen blouse. Instead, I wandered around in a long sleeve, high-neckline, to the ankles, sequin dress. I chose it because, that morning, my crankiness was winning the battle against my good mood, and I realized I needed something to lift up my spirits. “Today only sequin will do”. So it was. RuPaul would’ve been proud. I’ve always loved sequin. Unfortunately, my teen years coincided with the decade of minimalism, in which plaid was considered a daring move. So, how many years later Fashion once again rekindled its love with the magic of sequin, I started to embrace anything that even barely resembled (at least to me) the Alexandre Vauthier oversized jacket Beyoncé wore to Glastonbury in 2011 (it’s worth the Google search believe me). Or to the 43 sequin dresses, the majority of them vintage – and so impossible to “recreate” – that are allegedly in Alexa Chung’s closet (better not to Google this one). Or to that Daria “Muse” Werbowy, photographed by David Sims, with a sparkly Dior turtle neck (if you have to Google it you’re not in the know, that's a red flag)

But let us go back in time. In 1973, Japanese designer Kansai Yamamoto produced a bodysuit that would end up becoming part of Fashion history. One of the pivotal looks from David Bowie’s Aladdin Sane tour, that misshapen jumpsuit was another way for the British singer to reclaim his freedom. “I want to be a disco ball”, he could’ve said. Unconcerned with any criticism, Bowie never feared crossing over the line or to be too much. And his audience saw themselves in him. Around that time clubs were packed with young people dancing the night away, using clothing as a way to express their multiples facets. “Saturday night fever” was lived to the extreme, like there was no tomorrow. From Cher to Diana Ross, never forgetting Bianca Jagger and Liza Minnelli, between so many others, all of the it-girls (the real ones, the originals) chose sequin to storm the dancefloor or the red carpet. The American Halston, to whom Netflix dedicated a miniseries, was one of the masterminds behind some of the most sparkly outfits that paraded in clubs like Studio 54. During the few months it was open, that club was a witness to the best Fashion had (and still has) to offer. Its impact lasts to this day. Marc Jacobs, that was actually there, has confessed some of his collections have been inspired by what he saw there – our bet is on Summer and Winter 2011.

And just like that, we’re back in the present day. As long as our name isn’t Meghan Markle because in that case, we’d be bullied until the last hater runs out of breath, nothing is (apparently) off the table. The globalization of information has transformed less than acceptable habits into applauded routines from Rio to Tokyo. If, not that long ago, certain clothing items were destined for special moments – say birthdays or weddings and little more – now the tables have turned. Assuming a crystal-embedded choker ou lilac velvet pants are “too much” for Sunday brunch is completely démodé. Thanks to visionary minds like that of Alessandro Michele, that follows the philosophy of “more is never too much” in every Gucci presentation, or Tom Ford, that took every possible piece of razzle-dazzle in North America just to dump it in his spring/summer 2022 collection, or Donatella Versace, that honors her brother’s legacy with wonderful sets that bring bling and glam together in the best way possible, we can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that sequin is here to stay.

We’ve spent enough time in a sweatsuit. We hibernated in oversize knits. We made peace with Uggs. And that’s alright, But, it's time to celebrate. To celebrate ourselves. To look at that metallic (ultra-shiny) knit jumpsuit from Burberry's spring/summer 2022 collection and say “I want it!” To lust the little sparkly dresses from Christopher Kane and Lanvin. To love the full suits from Alexander McQueen and Paco Rabanne. To daydream with Loewe and Balenciaga dresses. Let’s remember the old days. It would be years until a sequin skirt would see the light of day. It would be possible that between the first and second time you wore an electric blue satin blazer, it would go out of fashion, then back in, then back out. It wasn’t rare that proximity between a baby pink mini skirt made out of feathers and a silk chiffon jacket, at the coffee shop around the corner, would cause panic and commotion. That was before. In 2022, in the realm of va-va-voom, there’s only one thing shining brighter than we are: the sun. Or the Loewe dresses. Have we talked about them already?

Translated from the original on Vogue Portugal's Celebrate Yourself issue, published February 2022. Full story and credits on the print issue. 

Ana Murcho By Ana Murcho

Relacionados


Moda   Compras  

14 joias com carimbo português para oferecer no Dia dos Namorados

06 Feb 2025

Eventos   Tendências  

Este foi o acessório que toda a gente usou durante a Semana de Moda de Copenhaga

06 Feb 2025

Notícias  

Sabato De Sarno deixa a direção criativa da Gucci

06 Feb 2025

Pessoas  

“Chamo-lhe campo de férias”: como é realmente ser um VIC (“Very Important Client”) na Semana de Alta-Costura de Paris

05 Feb 2025