The Style Files: Get into the swing of things!

Change is afoot as AW collections explored the limitless possibilities of fringing. The tipping point, when a subtle, behind the scenes look suddenly becomes a full-blown trend, is often easy to predict. Yet once in a while, something comes out of nowhere and completely takes us by surprise. Take fringing, for example, which spent years lurking on fashion’s periphery, confined to perennial appearances on the festival circuit and in the odd accessory line. Sure, there was a touch of fringing for SS14, then a few pieces featured in the pre-Autumn presentations, but nothing prepared us for the explosion for AW14, which saw designers slicing, fraying and tasselling with abandon.

Perhaps the first clue to fringing’s dramatic change in fortunes was when Valentino added it to accessories for SS14. Their acclaimed clutches were given an extra luxe touch with tasseling as were sandals and a few dresses. The trend gained momentum and at Michael Kors’ AW14 show in New York, where the designer’s dalliance with the cowboy staple proved it’s not incompatible with simple, straight, modernity.  The trend crystallised further in Paris, indicating that fringing had graduated to a full-on movement, the ultra-influential Phoebe Philo put just a few loose threads on the black lapels of her pale pink, ultra-precise Céline coat.

Of course, there was a different view to all that moderation too, and it was Lanvin’s Alber Elbaz who first made the case for the style, executed with a maximalist sensibility. Elbaz’s collection featured tailoring in ultra-frayed tweed, black silk sheaths framed with Western-style fringes, and midnight-blue minidresses with borders of glittering tassels. Beautiful and in absolutely no way lampshade-esque!

In the accessories collections there was barely a brand that didn’t embrace the trend. The consensus on tasseling and fringing is that it feels very right, for now. It’s not only stylish, but also incredibly sexy: the movement it gives to clothes shoes when a woman is walking is truly beautiful.