Posted by Fashion Junior at Large
Lace is nothing new on our fashion radar, in fact it is rarely off the agenda. For next Spring/Summer, there is a particular sort of lace which we have been seeing again and again on the catwalks. Let me introduce you to GUIPURE. This is a chunkier lace than the flippety, delicate pieces we might be used to. The technique for creating it is thought to originate from darning onto fishing net, which will give you some idea of the sturdier nature of this lace in comparison to, for example, a chantilly. The word
guipure means a thick cord over which thread is twisted; guiper can mean 'to wrap'
en francais.
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| Thakoon SS12 |
Throughout New York and London, we heard the word guipure enough times for it to stick. And then Miuccia Prada used it as an overlay throughout her collection. This cements guipure's status as a key texture for SS12. It is also highly versatile- it can be used as a trim (as on hems at Clements Ribeiro), an overlay (see Thakoon and Prada) or in an entire garment (see the Preen pencil skirt below). We've also seen designers (like Clements Ribeiro's dress below) take the guipure lace pattern and print it onto garments. This achieves the same balance of prettiness and chunkiness with the fussiness of dealing with the lace itself. So, there is clearly no one way to work your guipure- we're excited to see its many manifestations next Spring/ Summer.
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| Clements Ribeiro SS12 |
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| Prada SS12 |
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| Prada SS12 |
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| Preen SS12 |
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| I cannot confirm that this IS guipure but it looks a lot like it to me, trapped between layers at Simone Rocha SS12 |
All images from catwalking.com
