Peplum is a new old trend that is having a serious fashion moment. The style defined by a stretchy overskirt that flares at the waist – a trend that is believed to have originated in Greece and was last seen in the 1980s – has popped up in all summer 2012 collections in versatile, modern day twists.
The peplum was an integral part of Christian Dior’s path-breaking New Look collection in 1947, which celebrated the hourglass figure. Legend has it that Dior added peplums to the back of his suit tops to give the impression of a narrow waist and wide hips.
The peplum works for every body shape and outfit. It adds curves to the overly slender woman, and camouflages problem tummy areas for others. In apparel, the distinctive – asymmetrical and/or half–peplum patterns can be adopted in dresses, blouses, sweaters, jackets and skirts in innovative sculptural folds, bell shapes, frilly, boxy and architectural pleats.
This season, the mania begins from the top. There are structured ruffles in chiffon, leather and sequinned materials from Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy, and pearlescent frilled blouses at Giorgio Armani. In his show, Thakoon showed loose tops falling into a peplum, worn with a floor length tiered skirt while Jason Wu just played it safe and sharp with monochromatic peplums in skirts and blouses. Dries Van Noten has put peplum in his pants while Yves Saint Laurent is pairing chic cigarette pants with jackets featuring peplum in hot pink. There couldn’t be sexier instances of restrained femininity. Phoebe Philo of Celine has softly flared tops and the classic peplum worked into a low-slung wide belt, while Vera Wang has added detachable peplum in bursts of neon to her white dresses. The Rodarte sisters have presented them with origami folds on skirts while Gareth Pugh is suing them to lend a sci-fi spin to his jackets. Marc by Marc Jacobs and Kenzo have to be light and different: they’ve given the peplum a sporty, everyday context.
In India, Anupama Dayal is teaming peplum blouses with shararas, pants, pyjamas and even saris. Alpana and Neeraj have put out futuristic versions while, true to type, Gauri and Nainika have given the style a delicate and fluid rendition.
Before you hit the high-fliers, try out the range at the fast fashion stores. Remember to balance out the proportions: peplum tops require narrow bottoms, and vice-versa. Try it. It’s quirky, perky, and your waist will never look slimmer.