Thin and dainty or wide and retro, stripes are a certified staple in fashion. Here, we dive into the history of fashion's favourite pattern
Stripes were all over the spring/summer 2022 runway. But then again, they always have been. Stripes are a fashion mainstay, style’s favourite print with a decade-long history as a shorthand for chic. Breton, nautical or pinstripe - there is variation for everyone and rarely is there a dedicated follower of fashion who does not own a stripe or three.
This season alone, there was a merry menagerie of stripes. Consider Duro Olowu’s candy cane stripes juxtaposed against blocks of black, or Kenneth Ize, Alaia and JW Anderson’s fringed verticals. Vetements took a 1980s approach to buzzy lines of an electrical wire-esque design, Lacoste – true to form - took a sporting bent in racer-green stripes, and there was a feast of monochrome, from Caroline Hererra’s show-stopping gowns to Balmain’s contrasting horizontal and vertical patterns.
Nautical stripes, as ever, dominated. Like Schiaparelli’s beach hut red shirt dress and Max Mara’s pastel blue and sand yellow short-sleeved shirt – the perfect addition to a high-waisted bikini. Here, Molly Goddard’s red and black jumper proves the perfect after-dark vacation wear, while Barrie’s cashmere eau-de-nil striped shirt paired with crisp white shorts and laced ballet pumps make for a yacht appropriate ensemble to make Grace Kelly proud.