Glamour As Armour

Sweatpants season is over. Fashion fights back by harnessing the power and pleasure of dressing up.

- Jeffrey Yan

If, as the saying goes, history repeats itself, then the 2020s might be closer to the 1920s than we had previously thought—at least, fashion-wise. After all, that was the decade that came roaring back to life after the twin horrors of World War I and the 1918 influenza pandemic.

Then, bodices were let out; both hair and hemlines were chopped as signs of liberation; and fringe and frippery abounded. Now, if the spring/ summer 2021 collections are anything to go by, fashion is turning to riotous colour, exuberant prints and, most of all, statement-making silhouettes that envelop the body while making its place in the world absolutely unmissable—no surprise after a year that has reshaped the way our bodies exist in and navigate the world.

The pendulum swing is also a direct riposte to the months we’ve taken refuge in loungewear and athleisure. This season, fashion seems to be reminding us that there is joy and power in the sheer act of dressing up—all the way up. Leading the charge is Jonathan Anderson at Loewe. After years spent refining and streamlining his Loewe offering, it was like an explosion went off this season—of creativity, yes, but also of colour, shape and texture. During the pandemic-induced pause, his directive to his team was to just go crazy creating the most extreme of what they had in mind.