Fashion is a fickle, out-of-sync beast. The show timetables are such that the minute the spring-summer collections arrive between January and March, our eyes are already feasting on autumn-winter shows. By July, the sandal you had your eye on has been sold out for months BUT you can buy a winter boot in the sweltering heat. This cycle of chasing new new new more more more feels almost dated in 2024, yet it’s unlikely to change anytime soon. The answer will always be a transeasonal collection that is designed outside of the show schedule. It’s rare to find a brand that doesn’t play heavily on this industry induced newness, but it seems that there finally is one - Carven!
When Louise Trotter sent sheer skirts down the runway at Carven for her first collection, it was a literal breathe of fresh air. Carven, famous for its hourglass silhouette, felt truly revived. Ladylike but laissez-faire, the clothes were put together in such a comfortable manner that they almost didn’t seem styled? It was as if Trotter had plucked a sea of modern European women off of the streets and onto her catwalk. Staged within the same rustic setting, the show felt like a direct continuation of SS24 (refreshing!) with masculine-feminine permutations of fabric and shape. The similar tonal palette (a jolt of bright red replacing the green of the prior season) layered beneath peplums and slightly longer coats, felt fresh and modern. Trotter was conveying her modus operandi: the pieces you buy truly are for a continuation in your wardrobe. Now if only we could buy the actual runway Carven pieces online….
Of course Carven was not the only brand to send sheer skirts down the runway for SS24. Hype had been building the year prior and as naked dresses and lingerie took centre stage, the sheer skirt seemed to come into its own. Louis Vuitton eschewed the ladylike styling seen at Altuzarra, Carolina Herrera and Givenchy by styling wafty sheer skirts with an oversized bomber and monogrammed chunky belt. Dries layered sequin dotted skirts with striped polo shirts and heels while Edrem paired buttoned-up poplin shirts with embellished sheer skirts and colour blocked leather. Clearly the styling options are endless and as the sheer skirt is not only spring’s spotlight but autumn’s too, it’s destined to be a forever wardrobe buy.
The real question is, how would us mere mortals style a sheer skirt for real life? Here I lend my eye to formulaic looks….
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