Why so much lifting?

Unexpectedly (and anachronistically), the train has been one of the guests of honor at ready-to-wear collections in recent months. Was it the prospect of Charles III’s coronation that gave designers the idea to add extra fabric to their silhouettes? If the king’s long cape of crimson velvet was decorated in turn, on May 6, four sides were held, catwalk models willingly dragged the ground.

“The train of the old regime is a derivative of the toga that surrounded the body of Roman citizens in antiquity – pieces of cloth, unlike the sewn clothes of barbarians and slaves. It symbolizes the wealth and power of the aristocracy: according to the total laws, the longer it was, the higher the rank of the wearer. explains fashion historian Salome Dudeman, co-founder of the magazine claw.

In 1762, the coronation mantle of Catherine II of Russia was over 14 meters. Which is oddly reminiscent of the textile delirium of certain guests at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Met) gala every year in New York…

A form of elitism

the tail of the dress And the mantle of court does distinguish between the rich and the powerful. As indicated in the catalog of the exhibition “Back Side/Dos à la mode” presented by the Palais Galliera in 2019, this excess of fabric creates a liver that delimits the space forbidden to others on the ground and that protects. The back is the center of attention.

The train also changes walking: it prevents all reversals and forces other people to go around without stepping on them. Invoking their imaginations, the creators reconnect with a certain theatricality that is more elitist than the inclusivity that the era still holds us back.

At Rick Owens, gigantic tulle gowns, inflated to the extreme, are draped with sovereign trains. Traditionally more comfortable brands like Prada or Jacquemus also add layers of fabric to the back of their skirts and dresses, maintaining a certain simplicity as they only touch the ground. Victoria Beckham’s dresses are so long that you have to hold them in your hands to prevent them from falling. As for South Korean designer Rok Hwang, head of his label Rokh, he envisions a more sophisticated mechanism: He integrates a metal ring into his extra-long dresses, into which one forearm slides.