Say hello to Shard chic... this season's dresses are all about the A-line silhouette

This season’s most stylish frocks have a new London skyscraper to thank for their inspiration, says Karen Dacre
1/5
28 January 2013

Take a long hard look at the dresses on this page. Do they remind you of something? Clue: it has 87 floors and towers just over 1,000 feet above the capital. Can you tell what it is yet? It’s The Shard, of course. And, no, I haven’t lost the plot — at least, not entirely.

Granted the items you see here are not carbon copies of the latest addition to London’s skyline — there’s no self-cleaning glass or a nine-figure bank bill here. But you can see where I’m going with this, right?

After all, the A-line silhouette has been capturing the attention of fashion designers for almost six decades. At its point of fruition, specifically Dior’s aptly titled A-line collection, the term was coined to refer to a smooth silhouette that widened over the hip and legs. In later years, and following Yves Saint Laurent’s arrival at the House of Dior, A-line was broadened to include a softer, less rigid shape which delighted the women of Paris and secured its place in fashion history for ever.

Of course, this isn’t to say that The Shard’s creator Renzo Piano had the fashions of Fifties France in mind when he began scribbling the initial designs for the tower in 2000. Although it’s not entirely implausible — there’s a school of thought that suggests Dior took his inspiration for the A-line from the Eiffel Tower. But the connection is a helpful one to make, particularly for anyone trying to get to grips with the multitude of A-line shapes on offer in stores this spring.

A backlash against the straight-up-and-down silhouette that has dominated catwalks during the past few years is growing in both strength and pace. Championed by Raf Simons who, since taking the top job at Christian Dior last year, has sought to revive the House by celebrating some of its most iconic hits, a classic A-line shape has been quietly replanted in the minds of the style-conscious. Simons is joined by Valentino designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccoli, who have worked with the template to create some of the most beautiful dresses unveiled on the catwalk in recent years. Their determination to give this look a Valentino signature is understandable. As we grow tired of of the overtly sensual silhouette that has dominated both catwalks and red carpets for some seasons now, a return to a way of dressing that is classically feminine seems inevitable.

Of course, as with all occasions in fashion, an A-line silhouette isn’t a look that will work for everyone but it is adaptable, so don’t write it off without giving it a go. If you’re tall, skinny and lacking in the breast department, lucky you: you’re in for an easy ride with this shape. A sleeveless triangular dress — Céline if you’ve got cash to splash, Reiss if you haven’t — will do much to accentuate your best bits. If you’re bigger up top, avoid round-neck dress styles and choose something in a structured fabric. While A-line is tricky to master if you’re lacking in the height department, choosing a dress or skirt that falls to the knee will take your outfit to a higher level.

God bless Christian Dior.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in