Patchwork trend, fashion puts a piece in it (and also makes us think)

According to the definition on the V&A Museum website, historically he patchwork is «a way to use gyou waste them fabric and to prolong the life of the garments ». With fashion becoming more sustainable, let this style be forcefully back in trend it actually makes a lot of sense. In mare magnum of clean and minimalist 90s silhouettes, patchwork (from the union of words patch/ piece e work/ work and indicating, as we know, a combo of different fabrics) with his riot of colors and patterns even improbable (but that end up having harmony) today is here to remind us that the tears are mended, that everything returns, that there can be joy and exuberance, why not, even in pandemic times.

And so patchwork is popular in the Spring / Summer 2021 collections, spotted on the catwalk, primarily by Dolce & Gabbana: Sicilian patchwork it was made by retrieving some 1993 pieces from the archive and then entrusted to the seamstresses who assembled them according to their taste. And then again Etro, carpenter, Dior and even Armani (albeit in a more sober form) have proposed garments in assembled fabrics.

To be fair, the trend began to peep out last year. Among the first to show it to paparazzi flashes, Zayn Malik who, hand in hand with his Gigi (Hadid) was photographed in January 2020 in New York wearing a quilted jacket of the American brand Bode.

Then it was the turn of Harry Styles and JW Anderson’s multicolor crochet cardigan (with the designer’s instructions posted on Instagram for DIY lovers), while a few months ago Alexa Chung has collected thousands of likes on Instagram wrapped in her Holly Hobbie style jacket with a Peter Pan collar.

After that, more and more influencers, including Ella Emhoff, model and cool stepdaughter of Kamala Harris, they began to bring back the pattern vintage in key boho-chic.

And celebs aren’t standing by either: just recently Laverne Cox she appeared with a patchwork effect blazer from Balmain’s Resort 2021 collection, mentre ai Film Indipendent Spirit Awards, the actress Annie Murphy has flaunt a Dior pre-fall 2021 patchwork dress (inspired by the life of Andy Warhol) and the actor Nicco Annan a complete multicolor puzzle by Dolce & Gabbana.

Among the characteristics of the patchwork there is also that of be absolutely no gender. From the bottom of the retro to me avant-gardeand at the same time, it is not surprising, therefore, that has also recently won over Tiktokers and Gen Z fashionistas who have decreed via social media that the time has come to kick this trend out of the trunk granny (online searches for patchwork garments have increased by 25% since March) making it go viral. In addition, then, iThe patchwork pushes the desire for craftsmanship and recovery, inserting itself in that vein upcycling on the crest of the wave like never before.

Collect the pieces, sew them together to hold things together. If looked at in depth, beyond a superficial aspect, this trend, inserted in the particular period we are experiencing, is particularly significant. Assembled fabrics have always told a story that it survives from the times of the ancient Egyptians (bas-reliefs in the British Museum depict pharaohs with quilted cloaks) and reaches today’s pandemic. In short, other than waste.

In the gallery fashion inspo from fashion shows and shopping tips to be definitively infected by patchwork fever.