Throughout the 20th Century trends in underwear seem to have reflected the social climate and the role of women in that social climate. Whether the 1920s, where a post-First World War generation threw aside corsetry and foxtrots in favour of cropped hair and the Charleston, and squeezed into a ‘flattener brassiere’ or ‘bandeau’ to fit the androgynous straight lines and unfitted dresses of the period. Or the ‘New Look’ of the post-Second World War generation, where society embraced the corset as a historic form of luxury following years of rations and deprivation, and with this a celebration of the most womanly of shapes, the hourglass. Or during the rebellious years of the 1970s, a time rife with political demonstration and a new rejectionist counter culture, where the mass abandonment of traditional “undies”, namely the corset, suspender belt and stockings, signified a rejection of ‘ritualistic seduction’ as women declared ‘our bodies belong to us’ and women in the US famously burnt their bras.
For SS10 underwear has similarly been used by designers as a way to express their differing opinions on the women they dress in this current social climate. Jean Paul Gaultier liberated and empowered women, Dior celebrated sexuality as an object of admiration, and Dolce and Gabbana embraced the discourse between femininity and masculinity. Karl Largerfeld’s SS10 collection for Fendi displayed yet another aesthetic, where again underwear as outwear took centre stage.
Largerfelds’s romantic collection, all delicacy and fragility, showed Parisian lingerie along with the seasonal whimsical and wispy fabrics and colours. ‘Hyper-sexy’ was certainly not the attitude, even with the most revealing of underwear. Open jackets, sheer chiffon blouses and full length dresses revealed delicately feminine bras and little pantaloons. Shawl collars, ruffles on shoulders, scalloped edges, floral appliqué, vintage lace-edged bras, frill-edged bras, fringed trims and feathery collages of leather were Largerfeld’s details of choice. These details, and the use of sheer and roughed up fabrics and frayed edges, created a softness that felt very much more elegant than any other interpretation of the trend. The pale, almost washed out colours and the rough-hewn elements combined with the incredibly luxurious Fendi craftsmanship and attention to detail was the perfect balance of characters to keep the underwear perfectly ladylike.
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