FASHION

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FASHION. Cont'd.

A fashionable fascination with vintage design continues.

Photo: eft: Cupid dress, $726, Precious halter top, $396, and Enchantment wrap top, $605, State Of Grace. Right: Aegean wrap top, $481, by State Of Grace, Sim-Sim skirt, $1090, by Easton Pearson, Husky Shoulders, $319, by Uberchic by Kirrily Johnston. Picture: Marina Oliphant

On a visit to the Melbourne Fashion Festival in March, world-renowned retailer of original vintage fashion, Cameron Silver, described his remarkable collection as "more than unique". That's why they (movie stars) love them; because they're sick of cookie-cutter fashion." Silver's Decades boutiques in the United States are considered the last word in one-off frocks and the only source of red-carpet knockouts where stars, including Nicole Kidman, Chloe Sevigny and Cate Blanchett, are required — and by all accounts, cheerfully willing — to pay full price. (Freebies and frock-loans are the lot of Armani, Versace, Prada, and Dior, et al.) "It's about them," says Silver of his frocks and the Hollywood process. "It's not about some designer getting something on their (stars') backs." Vintage, in other words, is a recognised track through homologous fashion trends (admittedly, more of a problem for wealthy Americans than most of us — but that's another story). "Anyone can buy a haute couture gown if they've got enough money," says Silver. "But not everyone can have a (vintage original)." His theory is that it takes more effort to find and choose the designer that suits you and, frankly, it's got to be in your size. There's an awful irony here. Red carpet gowns are habitually copied by knock-off specialists. Thousands of replicas can be rushed to discount chain racks within a week. The concept of "unique" quickly becomes problematic. Original gowns lose their "originality" with every wear. Hollywood's "second" owners of original vintage gowns are compelled to neglect them after a single trip down the red carpet, or to abandon to them to charity auctions.

Photo: Vodka dress, $396, by Uberchic by Kirrily Johnston, sequin shrug, $295, by Saba, stretch satin leggings, $275, by Gwendolynne, 1950s cocktail hat, $120, with beaded gloves, $35, from Empire 111, and Le Now earrings, $89.95, by Mimco.
Picture: Marina Oliphant

More original vintage designer gowns must be found to feed increasing numbers of vintage fans (lovers of uniqueness or rarity) but there is, of course, only a finite supply. Little wonder that vintage designs have now evolved into an enduring mainstream fashion trend that shows no sign of waning. The supply is now infinite. The look once sought for being unique, offbeat, exotic and one of a kind, is now replicated in the millions for a complex tapestry of new reasons. One popular theory plots fashion designers' repeated returns to vintage and retro style as proof that they've run out of ideas. Another justifies the proliferation of 1920s, '30s, '40s and '50s styling in mainstream trends as our innate need for "comfort fashion" in a frightening, post-September 11 world. The truth could exist in a combination of both theories, or perhaps fashion has simply paused on the intrinsic beauty of a silk-satin gown that drapes like water, or the classic glamour of a fur stole, or the delicate glint of beads and sequins meticulously hand-stitched on to sheer veil fabrics, into flimsy lace trims and silk-speckled embroidery. Perhaps we just like fashion like that: classic, feminine and heart-stoppingly lovely. F2NetworkNews.