When was the last time you danced so hard you got light-headed, laughed so hard your cheeks hurt? Fashion wants you to do more of this, my friends.
Case in point: the spring/summer '17 runway season where the clothes were a riot of print, colour, fizz, vivacity, sparkle and joie de vivre. A celebration of life, honey! With gorgeous girls dancing. And dancing. And dancing.
Fashion has entered a stage of willful, rebellious, optimism, challenging you to be happy and giving you permission to wear any colour or print you desire, preferably all at once. Ideas that were once considered too frivolous, uncool or downright tacky are now highly encouraged. As I write this, for example, I am strongly considering a graphic Prada skirt, trimmed in lemony ostrich feathers…for work. It's the kind of piece I might have balked at in 2015, but in 2017 it just feels right.
And at a time when Brexit and Trump have been threatening to trump us all — when anxiety levels have reached record highs among women, when employment is up but people's feeling that life is worthwhile is not* — the jolt of sartorial serotonin is much appreciated.
The party began at the shows. At Molly Goddard, a small rave happened on the foot of the runway during London Fashion Week — models swaying and bobbing in neon coloured smocked tulle like they were high on, well, molly. The following week in Milan, models performed a choreographed lindy hop in cheery gingham at Antonio Marras, then a flash mob complete with blinking lights and blingy sequins broke out at Dolce & Gabbana, while actual jazz hands, clad in white gloves, bounced around primary coloured leather handbags at Tod's.
Later that month in Paris, interpretive dance was the backdrop for Maison Rabih Kayrouz's voluminous lilac and yellow dresses — all of this just days before Stella McCartney's models surprised the audience with a dance battle, her 'soldiers' dressed in vibrant slogan tees and graphic bodysuits.
When the models weren't dancing on the ss17 runway, the clothes were: those feathers shaking to and fro at not only Prada, but Marques'Almeida and Proenza Schouler as well or linen tulle performing port de bras around arms and legs at Rick Owens and full skirts swinging side to side at J.W. Anderson.
And by the looks of the aw17 runways, where Dolce & Gabbana once again staged a catwalk party and Stella McCartney a dancing flash mob, it looks like fashion is promising to keep up the festivities throughout the year. See the flurry of festive feathers at J.W. Anderson, Prada, Sonia Rykiel and Alexander McQueen for additional proof.
You could read all of this revelry in one of two ways. A) It's a gimmick. A grab for headlines and social media likes because fashion has become so oversaturated that people literally have to stage a party, tap dance and whip up an Instagrammable kaleidoscope of dye, print and trimmings to grab and hold your attention.
Or B) It's an attempt to put a sense of fun and buoyancy back into our wardrobes and seize our happiness back from world events. And while there have certainly been examples of option A, I'd like to think this brighter new mood is generally a result of the latter. Dance is fun!
Colour is enjoyable! And print can make you feel good. Best of all, spring is right around the corner. There's no time like the present, to cheer up.
