FW Trend: Baroque Style

Fashion is considered by many as art, but this is because fashion to very much inspired by art, whether it be art of the past, modern art, or what art is imagined to be in the future. But there was one style of art that came across the strongest at the fall/winter shows: Baroque art. Baroque art prevailed from the late 17th century to the early 18th century in Europe. If you have ever been to any well-known art museum, then you’ve probably seen this art form before, and it has probably painted a picture of itself in your mind, for this form is anything but boring or mundane. Baroque art is defined by its overly exaggerated, colorful, and highly dramatic and detailed portrayal of movement and emotion, much like the way an actor brings to life a character on stage from a facial expression to the single movement of a finger. Translate this into fashion and you’ve got a stylish aesthetic grander than life that looks like it belongs much more on the throne of a European monarchy rather than the downtown city streets. From opulent brocade jackets, cascading velvet dresses, and jewel-encrusted bodices, baroque art showed up in every shape and form on the runway, almost to the point of costume wear rather than ready-to-wear.

It definitely is beautiful and outstanding down to every such detail, but how does one interpret this during the modern era without looking like she belongs on stage? Well, just by incorporating bits and pieces of baroque-inspired fabric and shape is enough to capture an entire century’s worth of artistic merit in one outfit. A shrunken brocade blazer threaded in gold and silver like at the Balmain show looks well worn yet down to earth with a pair of dark wash skinny jeans and combat boots. But if you are going to stick with a baroque style dress like the ones designed by the late Alexander McQueen, there is no other way to go about it but to keep everything else extremely simple. An extravagantly pleated satin dress has a lot going on with its royal and elegant flair, so leave your hair messy and down, your makeup natural, and throw on some basic black flats. Baroque style evoked a lot of emotion in its time with just single stroke of a brush, so follow suit in reality and keep this trend going one piece at a time.