It’s been 20 years since Miuccia Prada explained her philosophy on skirts. Fast forward to the present day, and her words are still ringing loudly in our ears: “For me, the skirt is like a T-shirt. So I put all my ideas there”. She goes on to explain that an eccentric skirt “doesn’t change that much about you” because it’s “waist down”. To me, it makes perfect sense: the closer to your face an item of clothing or accessory is, the more of a commitment it feels. It’s the same logic behind telling my hairdresser to keep a deep root when I get my hair coloured so I can be “spiritually brunette”.
I have a penchant for a low-effort, high-payoff outfit, and this is why I love skirts so much. When in the thick of climate-change-induced heatwaves, the last thing you want is to be uncomfortable, but as fashion folk, if there’s a way to hack the system and stay cool without sacrificing style, then it’s all aboard! A dramatic skirt is the antidote to a potentially boring top. Case in point: Carrie Bradshaw in her tutu, elevating a simple vest to become part of a look that made fashion history. Then there are Salma Hayek’s evening skirts and kitsch little cardigans and bandeaus on red carpets in the ’90s, which remain on mood boards to this day.
The word on the street is that it’s a statement-skirt summer, and one of the undisputed It styles of the season is the “party skirt” by Versace, by way of Dario Vitale’s one-and-done collection as creative director. The scandal surrounding the collection lends it some infamy and notoriety, and the skirt is the perfect piece to wear as I lay back on the hill I would die on, which is that multicolour pieces are easier to style than most neutrals. They go with everything, and the party skirt is no different. I have worn this skirt nonstop since it arrived at my door. Throwing on a fabulous, colourful skirt and a top is just as low effort as putting on a T-shirt and jeans. Two items are all it takes; why not choose the more elevated path?
Alana Hadid did for the launch of her trainer collab with ARKK at CPHFW. She paired a bubblegum-pink trainer in a “dad” silhouette with a just-as-pink “princess” skirt and a tied black tee. As if by magic, the huge plumes of her skirt seemed, dare I say, casual—it’s all in the styling! The look reminded me of a Copenhagen version of Claudia Schiffer by Arthur Elgort in 1994 in a knotted Genny cardigan and a billowing taffeta skirt by Atelier Versace. As we veer into autumn, the cardigan will be the fun skirt’s Type A bestie: Saffy up top and Eddie below the waist.
My own wardrobe has become incredibly skirt-heavy of late, so I’ve been tasking myself with making sure they all get a good outing. I accidentally got the girls in a frenzy when I posted a recent instalment of my video series where I show real outfits alongside the real (read: chaotic) background situation in my flat as a mum who works in fashion. In a week of work and school runs, I truly wore a Dries Van Noten skirt covered in tiny loose threads that looks like it could have been made by Cookie Monster if he went to Central Saint Martins, a lime green and white Sunnei skirt with the texture of a cracked meringue, a vintage Escada skirt in bright pink and green houndstooth, a throwback Evisu skirt and the aforementioned Versace number.
Your outfit is a gallery, and the skirt is the main event.
The biggest showstopper, however, was a recent addition by BruceGlen that is a sensory utopia, adorned with clear, oversized sequins that reveal rugby stripes underneath. The BruceGlen twins (fashion designers Bruce and Glen Proctor) filled me in on the design story: “We wanted to take the classic stripe and silhouette and infuse them with a little whimsy. We added oversized piettes (what we call bubbles) to create the feeling that you’re surrounded by bubbles as you move. For us, bubbles represent present joy, so the skirt is ultimately a reminder to slow down, embrace the moment and enjoy the now,” they told me. Clearly, they exceeded expectations, as this skirt gets the most joyous reactions in public.
The key to a great skirt is to think limitlessly. Nothing is too weird, too textural, too bright, too voluminous. And just because the skirt is a statement, it doesn’t mean everything else has to be minimal. You can make it even more interesting by styling it with a top in a contrasting colour, such as red with a lime skirt or baby blue with a deep purple. If you’re more maximalist, experiment with clashing prints or the same print in a different colour. On the flip side, you can join the fun in a more low-key way. One of my favourite skirts is a navy silk asymmetric style with a fully sheer lower panel by Hades. It’s the perfect prelude to an unexpected shoe. To conclude, your outfit is a gallery, and the skirt is the main event. Happy dressing!
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