Fashion hasn’t always encouraged self-expression. Before the youthquakers in their ready-to-wear togs became the norm, trends trickled down to the masses through the couture. In this schema designers were dictators. Today, individualism in dress is not only encouraged, it’s communicated via many channels. A mix of high and low is accepted rather than the exception, but it was the blend of old and new that was emphasized at Stockholms Auktionsverk’s vintage runway show, in a preview of their upcoming September sale.
Presented with pieces ranging in date from the 1910s to this year, stylist Maria Virgin had the enviable assignment of organizing “grandmother’s closet” in such a way that it speaks to how women want to look today. (Her favorite pieces are 1990s Mugler trousers, a Pierre Cardin check coat, and a green floral-printed cocktail ensemble by Dior for Märthaskolan, a now-closed fashion house with an associated school in Stockholm.) To give the presentation cohesion, Virgin chose punk as her theme, and sent models in massive mohawks down the runway.
All a statement piece like a 1970s sequined and tasseled Yves Saint Laurent tunic needed for an update was crazy hair, fishnets, and flat thigh-high boots. More mashed-up was the finale look, which paired a black velvet Maison Augusta cape from the 1910s with an inky silk Prada skirt from the 2010s. Despite the 100-year age difference, these pieces were united, for the length of the show, which was inspiring. This viewer came away smiling and filled with the sense that fashion really is what you make of it. If that cape could be punk, it could be pretty, or prissy, or otherwise provocative. To play’s the thing.
[“Source-vogue”]