February 1966. A scene of scandal and sensation erupts. In an overnight triumph, Paco Rabanne revolutionised the norms of fashion design. ‘Twelve experimental dresses which could be produced in contemporary materials’ saw a cast of all black models dance to Pierre Boulez’s avant garde masterpiece Marteau sans Maître, and hailed the arrival of a pioneering modernist.
Luxury design was created outside the realms of luxury fabric, as Rabanne rapidly advanced the use of new materials and technology. Heavy rigid steel sheets soon moved into flexible forms of chainmail. Scissors were replaced with pliers. Knitting, an essential technique in chainmail, with the word itself derived from the French word ‘maille’ for knitting, was done with needles the size of broomsticks. Or a blowlamp was used in place of any needle at all. His designs were worn by the style leaders of the day, think Jane Fonda, Brigitte Bardot and Audrey Hepburn. His costumes for the 1966 film Who are you, Polly Magoo and for the 1968 film Barbarella confirmed chainmail as a groundbreaking trend.
A long time has passed since his revolutionary actions of the late sixties, and now it’s time for a new generation to reclaim metals. Take note: with Donatella Versace donating chainmail to Christopher Kane in 2007, and Vogue Italia’s November 2009 feature, Fashion Gone Strong by Emma Summerton, chainmail is making a return to stardom.
From Cavalli’s AW09 flowing, sheer dresses adorned with chainmail panels to Versace SS10, where pastels, geometric prints and super-fitted minis met slinky chainmail. From Marios Schwab’s chainmail tanks, collared tees, cuffs and collars to Christopher Kane’s chainmail bibs, bodices, breastplates and dripping accessories at Versus. Industrial materials proved they could be as sexy as the sheerest of organza or the shortest of thigh-skimming minis.
Gareth Pugh has taken the trend a step further for AW10, with draped fine chains, rich in movement and medieval character coating his hard edged collection. Worn as Pugh would have it, chainmail is a trend for the daring. But for the less fashion-brave there are chainmail accessories aplenty and so options are endless. Pair with lace, chiffon or a simple cashmere jumper to epitomise effortless cool; or accessorise black ripped skinnys and peep-toe biker boots to make a grunge statement. The multi-faceted influences of chainmail – military history, medieval knights, romanticism and gothic subculture – are overt enough for you to wear them minimally. Isabel Marant’s slim chainmail scarf or a piece of chainmail jewellery by Danni Jo, Eddie Borgo or Lara Bohinc are all resolutely wearable. A piece by the Vogue-hailed ‘New Crusader’ and current NEWGEN winner Fannie Schiavoni will make the most of the simplest white tee. On a high-street budget, chainmail belts are available at Topshop.
If a trend is worthy of Lady Gaga, Susie Lau (AKA Style Bubble), and self-assured rocker Noush Skaugen, it is surely one worth taking note of. But Fannie Schiavoni is resolute that chainmail is not just for fashion royalty, saying her pieces can be worn ‘by someone that has a strong sense of personal style, but she's not a show-off. She buys one strong piece of clothing or accessory each season and pairs with her otherwise subtle wardrobe’. And with most pieces made from stainless steel, brass, or platinum plated brass, with relief, I can promise you won’t have to carry the weight of a medieval Knight. Elle’s Avril Mair says ‘unconventional decoration is key for spring/summer 2010’, and chainmail is the zenith of this. Nothing will feel quite as empowering.
Luxury design was created outside the realms of luxury fabric, as Rabanne rapidly advanced the use of new materials and technology. Heavy rigid steel sheets soon moved into flexible forms of chainmail. Scissors were replaced with pliers. Knitting, an essential technique in chainmail, with the word itself derived from the French word ‘maille’ for knitting, was done with needles the size of broomsticks. Or a blowlamp was used in place of any needle at all. His designs were worn by the style leaders of the day, think Jane Fonda, Brigitte Bardot and Audrey Hepburn. His costumes for the 1966 film Who are you, Polly Magoo and for the 1968 film Barbarella confirmed chainmail as a groundbreaking trend.
A long time has passed since his revolutionary actions of the late sixties, and now it’s time for a new generation to reclaim metals. Take note: with Donatella Versace donating chainmail to Christopher Kane in 2007, and Vogue Italia’s November 2009 feature, Fashion Gone Strong by Emma Summerton, chainmail is making a return to stardom.
From Cavalli’s AW09 flowing, sheer dresses adorned with chainmail panels to Versace SS10, where pastels, geometric prints and super-fitted minis met slinky chainmail. From Marios Schwab’s chainmail tanks, collared tees, cuffs and collars to Christopher Kane’s chainmail bibs, bodices, breastplates and dripping accessories at Versus. Industrial materials proved they could be as sexy as the sheerest of organza or the shortest of thigh-skimming minis.
Gareth Pugh has taken the trend a step further for AW10, with draped fine chains, rich in movement and medieval character coating his hard edged collection. Worn as Pugh would have it, chainmail is a trend for the daring. But for the less fashion-brave there are chainmail accessories aplenty and so options are endless. Pair with lace, chiffon or a simple cashmere jumper to epitomise effortless cool; or accessorise black ripped skinnys and peep-toe biker boots to make a grunge statement. The multi-faceted influences of chainmail – military history, medieval knights, romanticism and gothic subculture – are overt enough for you to wear them minimally. Isabel Marant’s slim chainmail scarf or a piece of chainmail jewellery by Danni Jo, Eddie Borgo or Lara Bohinc are all resolutely wearable. A piece by the Vogue-hailed ‘New Crusader’ and current NEWGEN winner Fannie Schiavoni will make the most of the simplest white tee. On a high-street budget, chainmail belts are available at Topshop.
If a trend is worthy of Lady Gaga, Susie Lau (AKA Style Bubble), and self-assured rocker Noush Skaugen, it is surely one worth taking note of. But Fannie Schiavoni is resolute that chainmail is not just for fashion royalty, saying her pieces can be worn ‘by someone that has a strong sense of personal style, but she's not a show-off. She buys one strong piece of clothing or accessory each season and pairs with her otherwise subtle wardrobe’. And with most pieces made from stainless steel, brass, or platinum plated brass, with relief, I can promise you won’t have to carry the weight of a medieval Knight. Elle’s Avril Mair says ‘unconventional decoration is key for spring/summer 2010’, and chainmail is the zenith of this. Nothing will feel quite as empowering.
New Horizons
LISTEN TO: Pierre Boulez Marteau sans Maître (The Hammer without a Master) Paco Rabanne’s 1966 soundtrack and a landmark in musical modernism.
READ: Morte D'Arthur: King Arthur and the Legends of the Round Table by Sir Thomas Malory, Oxford University Press, £8.99. Lose yourself in the Arthurian legends of chivalry, the Holy Grail, Lancelot and Guinevere.
SEE: The Bayeux Tapestry, depicting the Norman conquest of England, where soldiers strip the vanquished of their prized chainmail. The original is in Normandy, but if your budget doesn’t extend to France, a replica is on show at the Museum of Reading, Berkshire.
VISIT: The National Army Museum. The museum offers group talks, examining one thousand years of armour and weapons from the Museum’s extensive handling collection.
WEAR: Fannie Schiavoni’s shoulder piece, the epitome of the chainmail trend. £230 at Kabiri, Browns Focus and 127 Brick Lane
WATCH: Jane Fonda in Barbarella and soak up Paco Rabanne’s innovative costume design
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