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FASHION

Modesty trend blitzes sizzling Swedish skin

With summer's long hot days comes the need to bare all and cool off, but with fashion's new focus on less-is-more, The Local's Victoria Hussey takes to the Stockholm streets to ponder what's happened to Swedish skin and the city.

Published: 24 July 2013 15:10 CEST
Modesty trend blitzes sizzling Swedish skin

A brief walk around Stockholm’s shopping districts and stylish quarters on a hot summer’s afternoon revealed a surprising lack of skin. Granted there were not many people around (something to do with queuing for tickets to see some curly-haired popstar at Allsång på Skansen that evening).

Maybe this was a one-off. I do know from my short time here that if Swedes are in the mood for sunbathing, in the park or indeed on any patch of grass big enough, the clothes come off and it’s bikinis ’til sundown.

Yet even in 25C plus heat, Stockholmers appeared to be doing summer wear rather conservatively.

IN PICTURES: See what Stockholmers had to say about the amount of skin on show in Sweden

And we’d forgive Swedes for wanting to embrace every flicker of sunshine summer can bring and bare all; after all with such long, cold, dark winters, who wouldn’t want to shed everything but the essentials and soak up some rays. As a Brit, I know the feeling.

And yet, Stockholm’s women in particular seem to be on-board with the less-is-more mind-set when it comes to summer style. Perhaps they are taking note of fashion’s rather restrained outlook on matters of the flesh this and next season.

Despite Rochas, Balenciaga, Miu Miu, and Philosophy di Alberta Ferretti all showing crop-tops for spring/summer 2013, when worn with full A-line skirts or carrot-top trousers, these teeny tops actually look rather demure.

Balance – something you learn as you get past teenage status into adulthood – a little is always more alluring than a lot. Sweden’s designer du jour, Acne replicated this in their spring/summer collection in ruffled off-shoulder tops and fragments of skin shown in blink-and-you’ll-miss-it split skirts.

At the moment, showing just a few teeny snippets of skin or only a weeny slither of midriff is not only alluring but on trend. Something Stockholm’s women seem happy with in particular, even if their younger counterparts, those pesky, body-confident teenage girls are only too happy to spend their summer days parading their bottoms in cheeky short shorts.

The trend for gossamer fabrics that play peek-a-boo with wandering eyes, a major trend for 2013, is doing its work well on Stockholm’s streets, teasing and enticing just the right side of risqué.

Does this mark a new attitude to summer skin? Do Swedes just feel more comfortable showing but a little décolletage, a slither of midriff, an ankle perhaps?

Stockholm’s women at least appear to be embracing a more grown-up attitude to showing some skin. Will the rest of Sweden’s female population keep up with the cover up whilst transitioning into autumn’s wares?

Keep your eyes peeled.

Victoria Hussey

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FASHION

Paris exhibition celebrates 100 years of French Vogue

A new exhibition in Paris will tell the story of 100 years of French Vogue - from the post-war 'New Look' of Christian Dior through the sexual liberation of the 1960s to the dangling-cigarette waifs of the 2000s.

Published: 7 October 2021 08:21 CEST
French Vogue celebrates 100 years
French Vogue celebrates 100 years. Photo: Thomas Olva/AFP

But as well as celebrating the magazine’s storied history, the exhibit comes at a time of turbulence for the publication.

Just last month, it was confirmed that its editor of 10 years, Emmanuelle Alt, was out and wouldn’t be replaced.

She was not alone.

Looking to cut costs, owner Conde Nast International has axed editors across Europe over the past year, and put international Vogue editions under the direct control of global editorial director, Anna Wintour, in New York.

New York-based Anna Wintour now has overall control of French Vogue. Photo by Christophe ARCHAMBAULT / AFP

Like much of the media industry, Vogue is struggling with tumbling sales and ad revenue in the digital era.

But the latest twist is also part of the endless push and pull between New York and Paris going back to its early days.

“The whole history of French Vogue is one of back-and-forth with Conde Nast in New York – growing more independent for a while, then being reined back in,” said Sylvie Lecallier, curator of the new exhibition, “Vogue Paris 1920-2020″, which opened this weekend after a year’s delay due to the pandemic.

The Paris edition was often the loftier, more bohemian sibling to its more hard-nosed New York version.

But it was also the hotbed in which much of 20th century style and womenhood came to be defined.

“Paris was the place to hunt out talent and content and bring it to New York,” said Lecallier.

The exhibition charts the evolution from art deco drawings of the 1920s through the erotic image-making of photographers like Helmut Newton in the 1960s and 1970s.

Its last peak was under editor Carine Roitfeld in the 2000s, who brought back a provocative Gallic identity by ridding the newsroom of foreign staff and becoming a fashion icon in her own right.

Her successor, Alt, was a quieter presence, though she still oversaw key moments including its first transgender cover star, Brazilian Valentina Sampaio, in 2017.

But internet culture has created “a perfect storm” for Vogue, says media expert Douglas McCabe of Enders Analysis.

“The first 80 years of Vogue’s life, it had the market to itself, it was the bible for fashion,” McCabe told AFP.

“But online today, there are so many other ways to get your information. Influencers, Instagram, YouTube — everyone’s a threat.”

In a world where new fashion trends can blow up around the world in seconds, it has become much harder for a monthly magazine to set the pace.

“It’s not that they can’t survive for another 100 years — but they will be differently sized,” McCabe said.

Vogue has tried to branch out into different areas, including events.

“I used to work for a magazine, and today I work for a brand,” Alt said on the eve of French Vogue’s 1,000th issue in 2019.

But the big money was always in print, and Vogue Paris sales are dropping steadily from 98,345 in 2017 to 81,962 to 2020, according to data site ACPM.

It is perhaps unsurprising that the new top job in Paris, redefined as “head of editorial content”, went to Eugenie Trochu, who was key to building the magazine’s online presence.

She declared herself “thrilled to be part of Vogue’s international transformation”.

For the curator of the exhibition, it is ironic timing.

“We had no idea it would end like this when we started work on the exhibition,” said Lecallier.

“Who knows where it will go from here.”

The exhibition Vogue Paris 1920-2020 is at the Palais Galliera in Paris’ 16th arrondissement. The gallery is open 10am to 6pm Tuesday to Sunday and is closed on Mondays. Tickets for the exhibition are €14 (€12 for concessions and under 18s go free) and must be reserved online in advance. 

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