Fall 2010 New York, Rants
A Rant On the Proliferation of Velvet at New York Fashion Week
By Britt Aboutaleb
We need to talk about velvet–the fabric is everywhere.
It first reared its ugly head at Cushnie et Ochs and Jen Kao. Then, on Saturday, it was like having a bad song stuck in my head when it appeared first at Prabal Gurung, then Alexander Wang, followed by Elise Overland, and finally Altuzarra. Sunday, at 8pm, plaid velvet bloomers popped up on Peter Jensen‘s impromptu runway and yesterday morning, I was looking at velvet at Zac Posen before I’d had coffee. Then, while at the blissfully velvet-free Halston presentation, I get an email from Kate and a text from Lauren both essentially saying, “Alexa for Madewell‘s your dream wardrobe, minus the velvet.”
So it was with great trepidation that I made my way to Marc Jacobs last night. When velvet did emerge my internal monologue went something like this, “That’s gorgeous. Wait. No. It can’t be. Is that? Velvet. Oh god. But, I kind of like it. I hate velvet, but I like this velvet. Do I?”
Kate says, “They must go to Mood, one at a time, and the salesperson whispers to one, ‘Hey, Marc bought velvet,’ and to the next, ‘Hey, Alex bought loads of velvet,’ and to another, ‘Listen, everyone major’s doing velvet.’”
But what’s wrong with velvet you ask? I think it’s unflattering, it looks cheap–and I don’t mean inexpensive. It’s also difficult; it often looks smushed, crushed, or like it needs to be patted down. I can’t imagine it holding up well, and what a disaster if you’re caught in the rain. Plus it’s so little girl-like, and not in a cute way. And when this trend, the one major trend we’ve seen so far, makes its way into Urban Outfitters, Zara, and Topshop, it’s going to look disastrous.
Lauren finds my passionate dislike for the fabric hysterical, and WhoWhatWear tweets, “Don’t ask for whom the velvet bell tolls, it tolls for thee!” So some actually love it, and I’m sure, come fall, I’ll spot some impossibly cool girl wearing it perfectly.
But I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the trend ends when New York Fashion Week comes to a close on Thursday, if not sooner.
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“And when this trend, the one major trend we’ve seen so far, makes its way into Urban Outfitters, Zara, and Topshop, it’s going to look disastrous.” –COSIGN.
Velvet on the runway made of silk, will trickle down to cotton (if we are lucky), then to synthetic (yikes!). But that wine velvet jumper in Altuzarra (one of my faves this season) was a great use of texture in comparison to its black leather counterpart.
“It first reared it’s ugly head at Cushnie et Ochs and Jen Kao.” No apostrophe in the fourth word.
I could not agree more
I certainly think this rant is justified. I also dislike velvet save very few occasions.
Velvet is like lace- it walks the line between carnival, ceremony, burlesque, and royalty. I love it and hate it for similar reasons. I have owned one beautiful velvet skirt for years and have rotated it with silk blouses, t-shirts, leather and denim. I always get a positive response when I wear it.
I got this “velvet”(looking) dress (black) from Target. Their limited edition or something like that. I bought it because I wanted a holiday dress. But never wore it for Christmas. I actually did wear it on New Year's Eve for dinner. It was slightly too big, so I wore it over a Wolford Tube dress (navy) and a skinny leather belt.)
The effect was really great. A nice Grecian look.
My boyfriend, who originally hated the dress and said it looked cheap/made with cheap things, loved the finished product.
I hope I don't see an over abundance of velvet because I feel like it's one of those things that I wouldn't want to see a lot of. So I can feel your pain of seeing it all over the runways.
But I do think velvet and velvety things can be done very well. Just make sure they're done well and don't do it too much.
Velvet has already made its way to Urban Outfitters, and judging by how much of it was on the sale rack at the Vancouver, B.C., store, I'd question whether it was a success. It wasn't hideous, but I'm with you on velvet hitting a nerve. On one hand, it reminds me of rennaisance fairs; on another, tacky '80s dresses, and on another home furnishings. I just don't have enough hands for the velvet conundrum.
I know this might be a stupid question, but how/why is it that this has been so ubiquitous in the collections? Is it merely a matter of coincidence…? Again, I know it's stupid but I have always wondered about things like that.
Velvet is a big no-no in my wardrobe but if someone gifted me a TOM FORD tuxedo/dinner jacket, I would wear it without hesitation.
http://blogs.louloumagazine.com/wp-content/gucc…
I remember spotting velvet in some fall 2009 collections but I'm also wondering why this trend has exploded now. Not that I mind, I loooooooove velvet.
I have a lovely J. Crew blazer in blue (my sister has one in purple and we swap). I love it–it makes me feel like Oscar Wilde or something. But, yes, it can look horribly cheap at times–and I don't like most of the velvet looks in the collections currently showing.
But, yes, as Zoe mentioned, velvet IS already at the mass level. I went to Urban Outfitters today and the sales rack was BURSTING with the stuff.
Trends in fabrics and colors have a lot to do with what fabric suppliers will offer, which is based upon trend data and research from all sectors of the fashion industry. Trends in fabrics and colors are determined up to 2 years in advance.
I have a velvet dress that I love, but I totally understand your apprehension.
i asked zac posen after the show about his red velvet dresses, and he cited the idea of it being “luxurious” and harking back to royalty. but all i can picture is me in my figure skater-wannabe velvet mini-dress, black choker and sneakers as my perfect 4th grade holiday choir outfit! i'm with britt, i think it's great on little girls, but can have a kaleidoscope effect on people of adult-sized proportions.
I like velvet, but it’s all about the specific piece and how one wears it and the color also plays a major role, the pieces I own so far are grey, military green, some shade that’s closer to mauve and a 70’s t-shirt in bright pink (it works don’t ask me how)
Um, no. “Its”, when used as a possessive, is apostrophe-free.
“It's”, when used as a contraction of “it is”, has an apostrophe.
Just putting it out there.
Thank God someone else is finally saying this!
I thought I was losing my mind.
I'm just gonna put this out there, just because it's a trend that's EVERYWHERE doesn't mean it's a good thing. I mean, can we talk about… well, see, I was gonna say “stirrup pants” here but those have come back, then I was going to say “huge shoulder pads” but.. well… so maybe the best word here is 1998 white chunky strappy platforms? Though I feel like I might be predicting Fashion Week 2011….
velvet is totally already everywhere. i used to HATE it, for years would not touch it, and i still do think crushed velvet is supremely disgusting! makes me think of the worst parts of 70s fashion! gross!
but really nice flat velvet – in black especially – can be super luxe and gorgeous, if worn right. i am not looking forward to seeing mass quantities of it out there; i myself show some restrain and only have a select few pieces: a lovely vintage silk velvet holt renfrew dress, black velvet skinnies, a black velvet bolero and one black velvet high-waisted skirt. that's all i want or need!
Shop Princess do you remember how amazing Tom Fords outing at Gucci with Red Velvet suits was back in the 90's. I do. It all depends on execution as you saw at Marc.
I loved the 90's! I still like to look at all my vogues from the 90's! Velvet was big in the 90's and I still have some velvet from then…I love velvet! YAY velvet!
Whenever I watch The Tudors, I start to crave something outrageous and velvet (until sanity returns).