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You must remember the cover of Blondie's
Parallel Lines: those grinning boys in tight black suits, lined
up like weedy bodyguards behind the girl in a sleek white dress,
hands on her hips? And how about the Blonde One's haircut? Less
than white-gold perfection, black roots stream through those peroxide
locks like chocolate sauce daubed on vanilla ice- cream. Debbie
Harry, glamorous punk, made roots rock. And this summer is seeing
a revival of two-tone hair.
The moment's model is Delfine Bafort,
proud owner of a Cruella de Vil do. Versace's current ad campaign
stars the supermodel Malgosia, short hair striped blonde and black.
It's a transient hair trend, bound to be as short-lived as the shaven
sides of the "Fanni" cut, but the Blondie "stripe" also hints at
the most vivid fashion look for this summer: the stark contrast
of black and white.
The black and white clothes recently
seen on the catwalks were far removed from the safety of white-top,
black-bottom. They were mixed in floral, stripe and chequer patterns,
given an edge with (yikes!) white shoes, but mostly used to make
the kind of visual impact that colours can only dream of. Tom Ford,
at Yves Saint Laurent, and Ralph Lauren awarded black and white
exclusive rights to their spring collections. It's easy to see why
Ford did it. His YSL debut was made in a maelstrom of rumour and
writ, with expectations sky-high, so he sent out an authoritative
monochrome collection.
A cynic might point out that black
and white photographs well, but his no-colour scheme also spoke
of his desire to be definite, sure and in control. He genuflected
to both the house's illustrious past with his white version of the
Le Smoking trouser suit, and to a potentially brilliant future with
his sleek white sheath dresses, bound wide at the waist with a black
sash. Black and white is a very contemporary history lesson. It
appeared modern to designers from the past, and now it's both modern
and retro.
That's why it's also a Ralph Lauren
signature, revived for this summer in myriad stripes and chevrons,
piping and pearls that reference vintage race-going fashions. Two-tone
"spectator" shoes, tattersall checks, and Cecil Beaton's famous
black-and-white costumes for the Ascot scene in My Fair Lady all
recall how black and white was the attire of the leisured classes,
the rich seam of inspiration that Lauren has mined to make his name.
Lauren's wealthy chic has to compete
for nostalgic capital with the Op Art fashion of the Sixties. The
Sixties is defined by the black-and-white fashion images of photographer
William Klein: dolly- bird models in black- and-white striped dresses
step out onto a zebra crossing, or throw performance- art poses
in the Space Age fashions of Andre Courreges and Pierre Cardin,
(who both made instinctive connections between modernity and a black-and-
white scheme).
The London designer Markus Lupfer
took the monochrome route for his Mod and punk-inspired summer collection.
"I think black and white is a really good way to look hard and strong,
and it's exciting but also subtle," he says. "It's never going to
be over the top, where colour could be too much, trying too hard."
A floral print in black and white, seen at both Louis Vuitton and
Prada, shows how controlled pattern can be in the absence of colour.
If you want to try some of the harder
stuff, go for a chequer pattern. It could be a small dose, on Prada's
woven shoes or on a wide belt, as seen at Alexander McQueen's last
collection for Givenchy. Comme des Garcons' optic print dresses
are strictly hardcore, but worn with the calming influence of plain
black, the loudest print can be tamed. A chequered tunic from McArthur
Glen (£59) can get the Eighties treatment with a black miniskirt
and footless tights, so you won't feel like one of the dancing dollies
on Ready, Steady, Go! after all.
But maybe, like Debbie Harry, you're
more a stripe woman. Nearly nautical, not exactly Sixties, a black
and white striped top is the least retro way to wear monochrome.
Louis Vuitton and Prada heed your cry. They both showed horizontal
stripes, irregularly spaced, to make the most desirable buys for
summer. Their stripes, like the asymmetric version from Karen Millen
(£59.95), were more white than black, but Giorgio Armani and
Costume National took the opposite view, with thin white bands running
horizontally or diagonally on boat-neck T-shirts or punky vest-tops.
If you really love wearing colours,
all year round, you won't be persuaded. But black and white is the
best alternative for those who tire of the summer tyranny of brights
and pastels. Summery, rainbow-hued fashion has a monopoly on warm-weather
dressing. Until now. If you want everyone to watch you this summer,
switch off the colour and turn up the contrast.
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