Anyone doubting the cool factor of frills and frou need look no further than an October 2017 Instagram post from one Rihanna Fenty, resplendent in floor-length electric blue mille-feuille, box fresh trainers and a pair of kickass sunshades.
She was wearing the girliest ball gown imaginable, like it was a basketball jersey. Such swagger, such mischief. That image very much sums up the rise (and subversion) of girly dressing being led by Molly Goddard (the woman behind Rihanna's blue frock) and Simone Rocha.
Both designers have built careers examining hyper-feminine ideas and translating them into something tomboys would happily wear.
Their autumn/winter '18 collections did this particularly well.
Simone Rocha said she wanted to 'go harder' for fall after having shown a softer, sweeter side of femininity centred around purity and naïveté for spring. So she incorporated tougher elements like punk plaids and tailoring in heavier fabrics into her trademark puff-skirt-and-sleeved Victoriana — in the process, she also made a case for wearing a sheer dress to work (do like the Simone Rocha woman and wear it over a suit!)
'I wanted a tomboy Victorian feeling,' she explained backstage.
Molly Goddard's autumn party girls are also boyish at heart. See model Edie Campbell in a black long sleeved sports bralette and flowing skirt or the drawstring babydoll dress in army green that followed a few looks afterward.
In Molly's world, frills, ruching and fluff are liberatingly easy to wear and don't require a size zero, model-esque frame to do so, as proven by the diverse body types in her refreshing casting. (Molly is known for enlisting friends to walk her shows.)
Hers is a ball gown you can dance, run or jump in. 'I'm the opposite of prim,' Molly explained backstage.
Ruffles you can wear high tops with — what's not to love?
