“Florals for spring? Groundbreaking.” So said Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada and a thousand gifs. The same might be said for velvet for winter – just one stroke of the soft, piled fabric and you’re at a fireside, glass of red wine in hand. Or that’s where I am, in my velvet daydream.
But perhaps due to the seasonless nature of fashion now, or just because some people are really, really impatient – and impervious to overheating – I might have to get used to velvet and Pimm’s. The fabric has been getting quite a lot of play this summer, even though it is a big trend for autumn – seen at brands ranging from Vetements to Stella McCartney.
Before the “see now, buy now” revolution, these clothes would be on the catwalk in February, and typically be available to buy from later this month. But the Kendall Jenners, Gigi Hadids and the like don’t have time to wait for that. Scarlett O’Hara ripped her velvet curt
Take away the air temperature issue and you hqve to admit that velvet is versatile. It’s gothy and 90s in a The Craft sort of way – see Cara Delevingne’s Enchantress-on-the-red-carpet look for Suicide Squad, which included a velvet-sleeved biker jacket. It is Victoria’s Secret’s model sexy, as demonstrated by Stella Maxwell.
It also has a very proper old-school-gala feel to it – Lady Gaga wore it to Tony Bennett’s 90th birthday bash last week. It’s also romantic – Alicia Vikander wore a loose velvet dress while out with Michael Fassbender, and Taylor Swift held hands with Tom Hiddlestone while wearing black velvet co-ords with, you guessed it, a strip of midriff. Velvet in summer by Swift – it worked. We don’t make the rules, Swift and her squad do. Velvet in summer is now a thing. It might even be groundbreaking.
