Welcome the return of granny chic
MILAN — A funny thing happened in Milan this week. While baby-faced teenage models flooded the catwalks, all those accoutrements one would normally associate with older generations — fusty knits, horn-rimmed spectacles, floral hair combs, sensible checked skirts, buttoned-up jackets, jewelled brooches — were everywhere you looked. From the resolutely classic Max Mara to the formerly vampish Gucci, granny chic is back.
MILAN — A funny thing happened in Milan this week. While baby-faced teenage models flooded the catwalks, all those accoutrements one would normally associate with older generations — fusty knits, horn-rimmed spectacles, floral hair combs, sensible checked skirts, buttoned-up jackets, jewelled brooches — were everywhere you looked. From the resolutely classic Max Mara to the formerly vampish Gucci, granny chic is back.
Granny chic is needed in a world where MAC cosmetics is producing lip gloss in a shade it creepily calls Underage; and Milan does geriatric glamour better than anywhere. It’s no coincidence that this season’s most cited advertising campaign, which depicted three grey-haired ladies toting ladylike handbags, was produced by an Italian brand Dolce & Gabbana. The grannies signify “the respect and love the Mediterranean cultures harbour towards the older generation”, said Domenico Dolce, who shot the campaign himself.
It also makes economic sense. Luxury brands, blighted with increasingly sluggish sales, are feeling the pressure. Harnessing mature shoppers could be the answer. In 2010, consumers aged 60 and up spent more than US$8 trillion (S$11 trillion) worldwide, statistics compiled by consulting firm AT Kearney showed.
Based on the catwalk evidence, it would appear that the starter kit for Italian grandmother glamour commences with Max Mara’ s prim skirts that hit just below the knee, paired with oversized coats in sober camels, caramels and greys — extra points if there’s a structured, ladylike handbag nestling in the crook of one arm. It would move on to the brooch-festooned moss green and pale pink suits and tweed coats at Prada, worn with leather opera gloves. And it would culminate with a pair of spectacles, an aforementioned floral hair comb, a cosy Harvest Festival flower-embroidered jumper and some sensible patent loafers, all ransacked from the Gucci catwalk, which looked like the parading of the fruits of a juicy attic sale. Add to that the graceful stride of 71-year-old model Benedetta Barzini, who walked at the Antonio Marras show, and you have your formula.
How to avoid the look veering into parody? Wear a sensible houndstooth skirt, but skip the seamed tan tights that some designers felt compelled to add. Horn-rimmed glasses will add an edge to your look, but don’t unleash a can of Elnett on a severe accompanying hairstyle. Jewelled brooches are an easy way to tap into the trend, but make sure you mix up paste and Perspex with real jewels — the juxtaposition of real and fake is very Prada.
And if anyone questions your motives for dressing beyond your years, rejoinder with the gnomic words of French theorist Roland Barthes, who was cited on the Gucci show notes that sat neatly on dusky pink velvet seats at the show this week: “The contemporary is the untimely.” THE DAILY TELEGRAPH