Drape is Both Comfort and Chic

in post-quarantine fashion, drape is the chic aunt of athleisure

While at home, many of us have opted out of constricting clothing. Our tailored garments are gathering dust, along with pretty much every pair of shoes, besides sneakers. There are murmurs about what post-quarantine fashion will look like, and if a fixed waistline will ever return, at mass scale.

We were already teetering dangerously on the edge of loosing ‘real’ pants forever with the influx of lulu lemon leggings and more pant-like sweats.

But do we need to swing so far to the elastic waistband end of the spectrum? A lusciously soft fabric, draped around us, maybe loosely belted, maybe gathered and tucked, could offer all the comfort we seek.

Drape has also stood the test of time, from the greek and roman toga, chiton, palla and stola, through the work of Madam Grès (1950s-70s) and Alber Elbaz’z Lanvin (2001–2015).

left: Three draped female statues from the Sanctuary of Fortuna Primigenia at Palestrina. a: Kore; b: Pudicitia; c: Large Herculanean Woman // right: Olivier Saillard, creative director of Palais Galliera museum in Paris, curated an extraordinary dialogue between arts and fashion. The Madame Grès exhibition at the Musée Bourdelle dates from 2011.

Drape can be interpreted through outfitting, or in styling a single piece of fabric. Drape can be engineered, or can be DIY. Drape fits all shapes and sizes, is forgiving and adaptable and freeing.

left: Gianfranco Ferre, Herb Ritt for American Vogue 1984 // right: Jean Shrimpton, Toga by Forquet, Paris Studio, August 1965

This is a proposal, for a transition from clothes worn in the comfort of home to clothes you wear in the real world. You don’t have to choose between constricting seams and tight-fitting things on the one hand, and stretchy expand-and-contractible things on the other. Let your clothes drape–soft, loose, and spacious–in rich layers or in one pinned, tucked, motion.

As designers, can we provide this alternative? A way to build in not only comfort and a sense of ease, but lifestyle focused for truly effortless way to pick clothes over loungewear. Could it also take the focus away from an ideal shape of body, with a focus on physical health over body aesthetic?

Masks and protective accessories will certainly be a new piece of the mainstream fashion vernacular. Maybe this in-between space, a new purpose for drape, can, too.