Everyone Is Wearing Gloves Now
When Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph burst into their memorable medley at the Oscars, they reminded us all of the power an individual article of clothing can have: boots are made for walking; blue dresses can make a devilish impression; and thongs... thong, thong, thong, thong. One key piece they neglected to highlight, though, were gloves—even as Wiig herself was sporting a glamorous pair with her Valentino dress.
And Wiig wasn't the only one. Later on Sunday night, Billy Porter attended an after-party in an overlarge purple set, and Billie Eilish traded in her Chanel-branded fingerless pair for long, semi-sheer black ones. They join a legion of stars who've pulled on the accessories in recent months—including Zo? Kravitz, who arrived at the SAG Awards wearing Jackie Kennedy-style opera gloves, and Rihanna, who matched her organza gloves to her mint satin dress at the British Fashion Awards.
On the New York Fashion Week runways, too, the gloves were on. From Tibi and Ulla Johnson to Acne Studios and Marc Jacobs, models' hands were covered. And at January's Couture shows, Maison Margiela and Valentino did the same. The styles vary, from Marc Jacobs's Jackie Kennedy-like gloves to Acne's semi-sheer pairs, dotted with pearlescent baubles—but they all herald the imminent return of the casual glove.
It's a long time coming. With precious few exceptions, ever since the midcentury fashions of Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn's day gave way to the 1960s mod rebellion, gloves have symbolized the staid, uptight, and regressive (case in point: Louise Linton's much-maligned leather pair). Winter gloves were, of course, always around (people's fingers didn't magically become cold-resistant once their coverings went out of vogue), but wearing gloves just for fun? You'd have to slip on Madonna's punk-ified version—which, like much punk fashion, embodied a desire to tear apart and remix the antiquated—or else be headed to a costume party.
Just as it took decades for hemlines to grow back after the miniskirt chopped them off, maybe time was needed to excise the glove's stench of suppression. After a good airing out, we can finally see them for what they are: not a remnant of a bygone era, like the corset, but a wonderfully superfluous accessory, well-suited to our current love of covering up. And there's nothing fashion loves more than the superfluous.
You Might Also Like
Solve the daily Crossword
