Women always remember their firsts—first kiss, first job, first house—and this season’s girlish RTW collections are a knotty nod to our first accessory: the bow. More commonly spotted coming down the aisle than on the runway, this season the double loops were embraced by designers such as Marc Jacobs, Christian Lacroix and John Galliano, who sprinkled their collections with girlish glamour, putting bows on everything from evening gowns to accessories. Houses like Valentino, Givenchy, Yves Saint Laurent and Oscar de la Renta have always had a dash of Little Bow Peep, so it’s no surprise that an updated bow blouse—that ’40s staple worn by the prim and-proper set—is among fall’s must-haves. But our love affair with the bow began long before Hitchcock’s heroines and suburban housewives.
In 18th-century France, King Louis XV’s mistress, Madame de Pompadour, was an icon of rococo frivolity. Embracing the opulence of the era, her bodices, powdered hair and chokers were adorned with plenty of bows. When the French Revolution ended in 1799, the embellishment lost its lustre due to its association with the maligned royal court. But in the early 1900s, things got loopy again with Cartier’s popular bow-strewn, garland-style jewellery. Until the 1980s, bows were mostly reserved for cocktail attire, rather than the clubs. But thanks to Madonna, suddenly everyone was desperately seeking Susan and wearing giant hair bows with their tank tops and fishnets. Since then, this cute-yet-cliched detail has appeared on a grand scale, in Viktor & Rolf’s Spring 2005 RTW collection, and in petite versions like Louis Vuitton’s 2003 Takashi Murakami cherry blossom It bag. The Fall 2008 collections were widely prettied up with the feminine flourishes—most notably Bottega Veneta’s graphic interpretation, Behnaz Sarafpour’s little-girl glitter, Lanvin’s crepe paper–inspired creations, Christian Lacroix’s cartoonish blow-up versions, Valentino’s ladylike loops and Bill Blass’s minimalist tucks. Like the LBD, bows continue to be a classic motif in women’s wardrobes. ’Tis the season to tie one on.
Shown: Christian Lacroix Fall 2008
Click to see a slideshow of the season's best bows.
First published in FASHION Magazine November 2008
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