New look for a new life, the balaclava will no longer only be used for skiing! It is now the centerpiece of fashion shows and campaigns for major brands with rather sober aesthetics such as COS or Max Mara. And even manages to sneak into the Galeries Lafayette line of accessories. It doesn’t stop there, she completes her CV by dressing influencers and guests of Fashion Weeks. And is also a big hit by seducing audiences from 7 to 77 years old with the multitude of messages it releases.
A luxury accessory
“The relationship to the face, to identity and to anonymity has changed a lot with the wearing of a mask during the Covid”, analyzes Marie-Laure Gutton, head of the accessories department at the Palais Galliera, Paris fashion museum, interviewed. by AFP. The context, from the cold spells to the war in Ukraine where the balaclava is very present, contributed to the accessory returning “into the collective landscape” before being reappropriated by fashion, she adds.
“From a vintage object, it becomes a trendy object that lends itself to a lot of variations, versions with a visor, either close to the face, or very loose, worn like a scarf”, emphasizes Marie-Laure Gutton. Anthony Vaccarello, artistic director of Saint Laurent, said he expanded on the “balaclava” theme in his latest menswear collection in January after covering women from head to toe in flowing, see-through dresses in September. For men, it came in high collars covering the mouth or flowing hoods. Jacquemus offers a hood-cap, while Marine Serre has dressed men and women in coveralls with hoods covering the entire face.
The art of being hidden
For Nathalie Bluet, director of own brands at Galeries Lafayette, wearing a hood translates a “new femininity”: concealing the face by stripping the body. Singer Aya Nakamura plays on this contrast for her album DNK released in January: the white balaclava-cap covering the mouth is worn on the bare chest, bringing out XXL eyelashes and long manicured nails. “When you’re overexposed, anonymity becomes a luxury. Being able to know who you are even without showing yourself is the ultimate celebrity, ”underlines Lucie Jeannot. A bit like what Kim Kardashian did, fully masked in a black Balenciaga look at the Met Gala in 2021. “It was an ultimate step in her communication around her body, her buttocks that she has used to mark its image. She is more recognizable by her lines than by the features of her face,” emphasizes Marie-Laure Gutton.