Guest Contributor:
Doris Hobbs
Fringe has made a number of comebacks over the past few decades and has now made its way back to the runways of SS16 New York Fashion Week. From shredded hemlines to an array of accessories, this quite fashionable trend is now in the spotlight once again. Designers such as Givenchy, Rebecca Minkoff, Ralph Lauren, Marissa Webb, Herv‚àö¬© Leger, and Alexander Wang all featured a variation of tassels in their SS16 collections. Highlights included Rebecca Minkoff’s fringed genuine leather cross-body bag with removable chain straps and Alexander Wang’s cotton and black leather tailored vest with fringe grommet details. If you are looking for some fringe benefits this spring, than perhaps this saddle bag with genuine suede tassels by Steve Madden or the faux suede fringe vest by Express (both on the next page)
will excite you.
Alexander Wang
Highly popular in the 60s, fringe began to take on a Native American influence. Twiggy, Jane Shrimpton, Sonny Bono, and Cher all frequently wore jackets and dresses made of suede with fringe with this Native American feel. It became Cher’s style who, for a period, wore fringe for both day and evening wear. Many designers also became inspired by Africa in 1967, creating collections that consisted of straw fringe on mesh dresses, with embroidery in wood and beads; designers then revisited the fringe theme in the same year for a mink coat.
In the 1980’s, Stephen Sprouse launched knitwear with a shimmer, with designs made from knit wear that showcased a backless, skater-shaped dress in a honeycombed metallic fringe. Designers of the decade, such as Giorgio di Sant’Angelo, created wide, flamboyant chiffon dresses with fabric strips forming fringe, and Claude Montana played with leather, embroidered with stud accents in company with fringe. In 1987, Azzedine Alaia designed an iconic beaded fringe dress for Tina Turner; she was photographed by Peter Lindbergh for Vogue Italia and Vogue America. Two years later Christian Lacroix made a sculpture-dress, creating the jackets with embroidery and fringe-like drapery cords and trousers made exclusively of corded fringe.
A spread on fringe in Vogue of 1992
THE TONIGHT SHOW STARRING JOHNNY CARSON — Aired 12/31/82 — Pictured: Musical guest Tina Turner performs on December 31, 1982 — Photo by: Gary Null/NBCU Photo Bank
