Trend: National Velvet
The supersoft fabric is having a huge moment for fall, bringing a chic polish to the season.
By Sarah Taylor
Photograph by Charles Masters
Styled by Marcus Teo
June 2010
Ever since it first appeared in Europe in the 13th century, velvet has connoted regality. England’s King Richard II, for one, requested that he be buried in the cloth; centuries later Queen Elizabeth II wore a six-yard-long coronation robe made of the material. Circa 2010 velvet reigned supreme on the fall runways, where both Giorgio Armani and Alexander Wang went classic with the luxe textile, while Anna Sui took it in an artsy direction with bold patterns. As for accessories, they were a mixed bag of elegance and edge, as in Brian Atwood’s bow-bedecked pump. The designer’s inspirations? “Baroque,” he says, “and a little bit rock ‘n’ roll.”