The Icons reframed - My take

Magazine

The Icons reframed – My take

Gidelle

There’s a particular kind of alchemy that happens when familiar pieces come together in unfamiliar ways. Pieces we have dragged along through our twenties and out of nostalgia.

Those items don’t even have to be singular garments but out of their lack of singularity they become archetypes. Shapes and staples we have known our entire life, quietly reworked until they feel entirely of the moment.

The Cardigan with a rebellious structure

Back when I was still shaping my style, the Agnès b. store in the 1st arrondissement of Paris became a kind of after-school pilgrimage where my friends and I would almost instinctively drift there.

We would try the pieces we loved, (the cardigans, the striped tops, the effortless silhouettes) speaking about them with the exaggerated admiration only a group of teenage girls can express for things just out of reach. We couldn’t afford them yet, of course. But that was part of the ritual. Desire, after all, is often the first step in learning how to dress.

I’ve owned more cardigans that I could ever count since then but a black one with subtle volume in the sleeves and a clean, collarless neckline is my go-to. The history of the cardigan can be traced to the Crimean War in the 19th century, and is named after the British officer who wore a knitted waistcoat.

Although the cardigan borrows its authority from classic tailoring, it compliments the proportions enough to make it feel more modern. It also sharpens our favourite pair of jeans, refines our shirts, and reframes silhouettes that would otherwise look too casual for any occasion. When worn over a crisp shirt instead of a blazer that would feel too strict, the cardigan becomes something slightly mischievous.

While it was born from military pragmatism, just like most of our favourite fashion staples, the cardigan eventually softened into domestic comfort, tamed inside the best wardrobes.

The Shirt, Reconsidered

The shirt might be one of the most mundane garments in our wardrobes and yet, it is also one of the most disrupted. Its origins are rooted in uniformity, corporate, academic, utilitarian, and it’s precisely this structure that makes it such fertile ground for reinterpretation.

Today, the shirt isn’t about playing by the rules anymore, it’s about personality. A shift in collar height can either establish authority or introduce romance, all a matter of attitude. Volume in a sleeve can soften tailoring or amplify presence. All of a sudden, you’re not just dressed but you’re making an entrance. A concealed placket here, an unexpected cuff there, sometimes a slightly elongated hem… are the subtle interventions that can transform this basic item into a signature one.

But what really makes a shirt iconic is its split personality: crisp and buttoned-up in the morning, then casually undone in the evening.

But what really makes a shirt iconic is its split personality: crisp and buttoned-up in the morning, then casually undone in the evening. Layered under a sweater, worn open over a tank, or stealing the spotlight all on its own, the shirt is the hero of a well-thought wardrobe.

To me, the evolution of the shirt is the perfect evidence of the broader shift in the way we dress today. It is no longer just a symbol of professionalism but it moved away from its prescribed roles to adopt more personal codes.The shirt remains a piece that holds history in its construction, while leaving room for the wearer to rewrite the narrative.

Denim: The New Proportion

When it comes to denim, the first image that comes to my mind is of Farah Fawcett cruising on her skateboard. Wide-leg jeans, barrel-leg, skinny jeans or straight-fit with a clean, elongated line are doing what great denim always do: absorbing the mood of the moment for an entire generation.

My go-to will always be the high rise and full leg that create a column-like silhouette and make me feel both grounded and elevated. Because there’s a certain architectural quality to this shape specially for those of us with an average height. It lengthens, anchors, and balances the more detailed pieces above. It’s less about nostalgia, (you know, that 70’s boot-cut that we all had at least once in our lives), but more about proportions. Denim, here, isn’t casual, it’s compositional.