Precious plumage: How to wear fashion’s feather trend

Spread your wings but don’t come over all of a flutter

Friday 20 October 2017 14:17 BST

Balenciaga paraded plumes in the most impressive manner

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Forget their associations with showgirls and Australia’s most famous export, Dame Edna, because feathers are officially high fashion.

Having been used decoratively throughout history, somewhere along the line they’ve earned a pretty bad rap.

But now designers are determined to make feathers fabulous once again by trading in the hen party guise for something altogether more stylish.

Think old school Hollywood glamour, fluffy 1920s details and Mae West’s feather-trimmed negligee.

Indeed, the phenomenon peeked at Prada where, following on from last season’s foray into feathers, models swarmed the runway in everything from crystal-embroidered dresses to skirts, shoes and even hats loaded with marabou trims.

Elsewhere, Calvin Klein affixed quills to cocktail dresses and slipped them under clear PVC, while JW Anderson mixed his with stretchy jersey, floral patterns and chain mail.

Calvin Klein models stepped out in a fusion of feathers and PVC

It was at Balenciaga though where plumes made the most prodigious impact with a final look that consisted of a floor-length gown and super-oversized bag – both engorged by layers of fluttering feathers.

Why exactly humans feel the need to dress up as birds has even been addressed by The New Yorker, which published a nearly 8,000 word examination on the subject.

The answer, of course, was simply that birds and their feathers are beautiful but, for the more fashion forward, they’re also an inspired way to add texture in the cooler months.