English version | The gilded age

17 May 2022
By Ana Murcho

A princess is someone who wears Richard Quinn for Sunday brunch, Rodarte for Tuesday lunch, and McQueen for dinner...every other day.

A princess is someone who wears Richard Quinn for Sunday brunch, Rodarte for Tuesday lunch, and McQueen for dinner...every other day. 

Once upon a time, there was a strange beginning of a decade, on an even stranger planet, on which all the inhabitants (also a bit strange, admittedly) were abnormally attracted to so-called “period” tv shows. Unfazed by the long wait between each season of The Crown, viewers succumbed to the boredom of a virus that locked them indoors too long and didn't shy away from swapping Buckingham Palace for 19th century London and the New York: first it was hurricane Bridgerton, then The Gilded Age, and in these things of ratings, you know, if there's a lode, there's repetition. Not by accident, the annual exhibition at the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which opened in early May with the theme In America: An Anthology of Fashion, caused many fashionistas to relive a golden period in fashion history characterized by long dresses, corsets, hats, and other princess-worthy trappings — what a period is that the one? It seems that nobody knows for sure yet, but that is not called into question. After all, who hasn't dreamed of dressing in the clothes of Marie Antoinette (the only thing we wanted, from her) or the always impeccable Wallis Simpson? The closet of Princess Margaret-while-young, sister of Queen Elizabeth II, or that of Grace Kelly, would also make us fight for the return of the monarchy. But let's not even go that far. If we type “princesses” and “closet” into Google it is not this royalty we will find. The stores are full of reinterpretations of what, depending on the circumstance, could be Cinderella's new blue dress — case in point, Richard Quinn's sky blue jumpsuit that would make the evil sisters blush with envy, or look 34 from Act No1, the Milan-based brand by Galib Gassanoff and Luca Lin that promises to explode in the coming seasons. Vivianne Westwood, one of the first to create alternative gowns for Snow White with piercings and tattoos, is on the rise again — and when hasn't she been? One only has to remember Dua Lipa at last year's Brit Awards in that yellow Vivienne Westwood to realize that the “fairy tale with a twist” trend is here to stay.

For some designers this trend is, in fact, an integral part of their DNA: such is the case of Simone Rocha and Molly Goddard, whose strong and easily recognizable visual identities stand out for defending a notion of femininity where delicate elements, such as lace, tulle and pearls, normally associated with a girly and innocent imaginary, coexist with masculine details and exaggerated silhouettes. The Rodarte sisters also seem to create their collections in a parallel, almost magical universe — a world populated by rock princesses with connections to themes not very advisable for those who imagine that fairy tales are painted only in pink; the Rodarte woman does not hesitate to cross the line between good and evil, which is why the brand's “dark romantic” aesthetic remains as appealing as when it was launched in 2005. Spring/summer 2022 was, in fact, the most down-to-earth of all Kate and Laura Mulleavy's seasons — pandemic has these things — due to the simplicity with which the models appeared on the runway, almost all of them without the usual accessories, as if in a return to nature. The clue was followed, in a way, by Nicolas Ghesquière for Louis Vuitton: in the press notes distributed after last October's show, he referred to his central inspiration as a “grand ball of time” or, if we prefer, a ball where past, present and future meet — and where embroidered dresses dance, with impossible hips (to get an idea: there are chandeliers with less diameter), that match with the coolest wrestling boots that ever walked the planet Earth. Giambattista Valli is an habitué of these endeavors — his voluminous tails transport us to a dimension where no one has to run across a crosswalk — as well as Carolina Herrera, who doesn't hesitate to relaunch, year after year, the ensemble that changed our perception of red carpet chic: white shirt and an ultra-long silk skirt. Viktor & Rolf, whose ties to the fairy tale underground are all too well known, have taken inspiration from Dracula for this season's Haute Couture — although we also see the Cards Soldiers from Alice in Wonderland there. But if we want the irreverent elegance of Little Red Riding Hood, there is only one option: Alexander McQueen. In fact, that option is good for everything. Because with McQueen we can be anyone we want, even Moana at Burning Man.

Translated from the original on The Fairytale Issue, from Vogue Portugal, published May/June 2022.Full stories and credits on the print issue. 

Ana Murcho By Ana Murcho

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