Transparent items in spring-summer collections
IN A CONSTANT WONDERZINE HEAD talks about trends from the podium that can be adapted for your wardrobe for the next six months. In this issue we understand how today designers from Christopher Kane to Raf Simons suggest wearing transparent things in the city.
How it all began
Transparent dresses made of light organza, gas and muslin were worn by French women in the 18th century, putting on a light tunic on top of an ordinary dress, sometimes shortened so that an ankle was visible. At the beginning of the XIX century, transparent parts have already firmly entered the wardrobe. For example, sewed dresses with transparent sleeves. The appearance of transparent things in the women's wardrobe was not only a tribute to the perception of your own body, but also a purely functional idea - it was not hot in a lush dress of multi-layer organza in the summer. In addition, at this time, the ideas of naturalism spread: at the beginning of the 20th century, the first nudist society, called "Tifal" and founded by Richard Ungewitter, the author of the book Nudity, already existed.
The boom on transparent things happened with the first wave of the sexual revolution in the 60s of the XX century. The emergence of new materials such as plastic, has pushed designers to the decision to sew transparent, sexy clothes. One of the first to experiment with sexuality began Rudi Heinrich, who was part of the circle of futuristic designers of the 60s along with Andre Kurezh, Pierre Cardin and Paco Rabanne. He created transparent clothes, experimented with cutouts, androgyny, sewed things from plastic and tight vinyl. To him, we are obliged to fashion topless tan, he invented monokini, offering to leave only panties from the swimsuit. From then until today, sexuality has become one of the main trends almost every season.
In the 70s, Jane Birkin appears in public in transparent mini-dresses with a straw basket in her hand, and the stars begin to dance to a hot disco in transparent tunics, or what her mother gave birth to at Studio 54. In 1984, Jean-Paul Gauthier developed the concept of underwear as outerwear, and his corset with cone-shaped cups appears on Madonna and forever becomes an iconic thing of the era. In the 90s, minimalists such as Gilles Zander work with transparent materials, and Calvin Klein promotes transparency in advertising campaigns using nude fabrics.
How to wear transparent things now
From time to time, designers return to the catwalk of girls in transparent dresses, from under which bodices and high-waisted shorts are barely visible. In contrast to the past 2013 prim autumn-winter season, the return of transparent things and sexuality was quite predictable. Transparent things create the illusion of the presence of clothing. To create them use or lace, or light organza, as well as georgette, gas, mesh or plastic.
Burberry Prorsum features lace-up high-waisted pencil skirts along with see-through shirts — on top, a trench coat or coat is a must-have that can be replaced with an elongated jacket. We see the same trick at Raf Simons - for Christian Dior, he shows transparent pleated skirts, complemented by bulky jackets on top. In the next autumn-winter season, Miuccia Prada uses the same method for Prada: she wears heavy coats on transparent tunics or torts fine dresses of silk under her tunics. For Miu Miu Miuccia offers plastic raincoats paired with quilted things. During the couture week, Valentino showed transparent dresses to the floor, and Karl Lagerfeld during the spring couture show Chanel made a separate block with 20 transparent images: weightless skinny pants, tops and dress shirts - everything is decorated with sparkles and goes in a pair with sneakers. For Fendi, Lagerfeld uses transparent organza, which he imposes in layers - dresses, skirts, tops look airy, but translucent.
Sportmax, Balenciaga and Lacoste show things that combine transparent and opaque details. Ennio Kapasa in the Costume National collection includes transparent shirts and tops, dresses with transparent details and encourages you to open your body completely. Alessandro Del Aqua for Nº21 creates transparent pencil skirts, decorated with beads, which partially cover the massive shirts or jackets. Under the transparent black dresses, Del Aqua puts on a dense monophonic underwear. Simone Rocha shows transparent plastic coats, as well as low-functional transparent dresses and tops. Hussein Chalayan demonstrates transparent maxi-length dresses in combination with a combination dress, as well as weightless skirts paired with transparent umbrella hats. Jonathan Anderson, who is often scolded for deforming body clothes, in the spring-summer collection demonstrates things that reveal the body completely.
However, Marc Jacobs came the furthest - in his latest collection for Louis Vuitton, he showed transparent tights, tunics, bodysuits, decorated with sequins in the spirit of the dresses of the singer Sher of the 90s, as well as transparent leggings with inscriptions that look out from under the dresses and short In the autumn-winter season, Marc Jacobs did not stop there either, and already under his own brand of the same name, he showed flesh-colored knitwear in combination with plush crazy-fur coats and sporty bermuda shorts.
Beware!
Here it is important to maintain a balance and not reach the level of Russian stars in Cannes, dressing up in transparent dresses on the floor, through which you can see the flaws of the figure and fishnet pants. Another not very successful example of styling is Rihanna's triumphant appearance at the annual CFDA Awards. The singer understood the trend for transparency literally, exposing her chest in front of conservative Anna Wintour. In order not to look vulgar in transparent things, you need to take care of suitable underwear: under a transparent midi-length dress, you can wear a combination dress or a one-piece bodice (or a crop top) and high-waisted shorts. This is also where multi-layering techniques come in handy: following the example of Raf Simons and Alessandro Del Aqua, you can play on contrasts by wearing an elongated monochrome oversight jacket or vest.
PHOTO: Getty Images / Fotobank (2), Sipa Press / Fotodom (2)