Seasonal fashion, often, tends to go through phases of anatomical fixation — décolletage, back (remember that navy blue Guy Laroche number Hilary Swank took to the Oscars in 2005), side cleavage (Gwyneth Paltrow in Prada at the Met gala in 2012)... Last year the midriff was a pan-label subject of focus, while in menswear right now it is, strangely, ankles — everyone from Prada to Carven to Desquared2 have been taking up men’s trouser hems. In the just-concluded haute couture week in Paris, Karl Lagerfeld sent out his “frame shoulders” — that half-shrug, half-slipped collar, half-bolero wrap that came on most of ethereal dresses the slightly scary feather-eyelashed models wore. The objective apparently was to frame the shoulders in a way that would make the neck stand out. Something akin to a skinny flamingo neck emerging from the rest of its fluffy self.
These frame shoulders were also to be found at Alexis Mabille, Valentino (very wedding cake-like) and Elie Saab (the latter, with the onset of Oscar season, might make frequent appearances). Versace’s blingy Xena came with metal-and-fur shoulder pads, while Raf Simons at Christian Dior brought in the frame shoulders through the gilets.
