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Tulle takeover is in full swing. SS17 set the precedent for the fabric du jour, with an array of designers incorporating the delicate material into their collections, from Gucci to Marques’Almeida, via Jacquemus and Off-White.
You could call it the Molly Goddard effect. The young London-based designer has certainly made her mark, championing the fabric since her first show in Spring/Summer 2014. Her signature smocking, pleating and crocheting has turned the joys of the childhood dressing-up box into legit partywear. Just see Rihanna sporting Goddard’s lime-green ‘Sophie’ dress on her coffee run.
Traditionally reserved for wedding veils and ballet tutus, tulle is the dream foundation for ruffles, frills and flounces. Gucci showed us pastel fondant treats in layered hemlines and puffed-up sleeves, while Dior’s red, white and black tulle midi skirts were embroidered with plants, insects and hearts. There’s certainly been a return to more feminine dressing of late, and tulle takes centre stage.
While Goddard’s princess pieces are perfect for parties, and designers like Maria Grazia Chiuri stayed true to the delicacy of the fabric, tulle wasn’t confined to typically girly pieces for SS17. Marques’Almeida presented tulle sleeves emerging from their trademark denim shell top, while Saint Laurent kept things (extremely) sexy with swaths of tulle tucked into a leather skirt-to-corset number. Across the board, the fabric was paired with sportswear, slogan sweatshirts, and wide-legged trousers – proof that tulle needn’t mean Tinkerbell.
Click through to see a selection of our favourite pieces to get your hands on right now, to dress up, dress down, and everything in between.
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