Summer stripes
By Gerry Chan
“In the stripe there is something that resists enclosure within systems.” — Michel Pastoureau
STRIPES jar. They alter perceptions. They break the natural flow and interrupt the established order. Ergo, stripes are the devil’s own. Or so went the medieval wisdom.
Perhaps because of this thinking, Pope Boniface VIII asked the Carmelite order to abandon its garment of brown and white horizontal stripes and use just one solid color instead.
According to fashionglobalblog, “In the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, stripes were seen as a scandalous thing — they were a sign of exclusion, aberration, and something to be avoided. Soon, the striped pattern was relegated to social prostitutes, clowns, jugglers, slaves, servants, crewmen, lepers, executioners, convicts and untrusted people. Even striped animals were targeted, considered as cruel, unnatural freaks. In medieval paintings, the devil himself is often depicted wearing stripes.”
It wasn’t until the late 1850s that the stripes became popular, thanks to a functional purpose. It was worn by the French Navy who hailed mostly from Breton, thus it acquired the moniker Breton Stripes. Stripes were then seen as good visual breakers for the monotony of the vast blue sea. Thus helping rescuers spot shipwrecked sailors. The original Breton Stripes have 21 stripes representing Napoleon Bonaparte’s 21 triumphs over England.
Coco Channel’s nautical collection resort wear in 1917 gave the stripes a feminine touch. Then, the magic of cinema took over — Audrey Hepburn, Brigitte Bardot and Jean Seberg, among others, showed the world the allure of stripes. Of course hip rogues like Pablo Picasso, Andy Warhol and Lee Marvin don them too.
In these pages you’ll see how the stripes look in our tropical city in 2015 when worn by variety of young women.
*****
Models: Natasha Garcia, Lyka Galeos, Jasmine Longridge and Mia Keanchan
Outfits: Dyna Lounge Boutique
HMUA: Marvin Mendoza
Model Agency: Marlon Wafer Models
Venue: Luxy Music Bar and Restobar
