A little bit of black magic in design

Prada embrace the new dark austerity.

Black is the new black. There you go, it's been said and now you can all have a good laugh.


Sure, at one stage someone told us that lime green was the new rose pink or even that the new grey or chocolate brown had usurped the old black; but somehow nothing has quite the same ring to it as this good old-fashioned fashion cliche.

Only a year ago, one young upstart designer was telling the press that wearing all black is just not modern - that it made you look like a hairdresser or a waiter.

On the other hand, the influential designer Miuccia Prada said: Black is coming back. After a while you get fed up with colour and print. Now it is time to be serious. Less fun, no frills.

"Last year we used fashion to escape from our problems. Now we need to be more realistic and show ourselves to be more substantial."

Europe's collections seem to reflect that view, or maybe it's just that big-name designers have finally taken AC/DC's advice and arrived back in black.

Although black is slimming, smudge- proof and, yes, easy to wear, it's not necessarily such good news for New Zealanders shopping for fashion. How do you work with a trend that all indicators on the runways of Europe say is going to be huge when they're calling it for winter and we're facing a long, hot and humid summer? Because while the trendsetting designers - Prada, Louis Vuitton and Calvin Klein - are off to a funeral, in New Zealand we'll soon be putting on the fake tan and heading for the beach.

Before the late 1950s, you dressed all in black only if you were in mourning, were a domestic servant, a member of the clergy, or too poor to afford something brighter.

It was an Italian fellow, the nobleman and diplomat Baldessare Castiglione, who in 1528 first wrote about the joys of black clothing in The Book of The Courtier, a how-to manual for courtiers. He recommended a black costume as a means of conveying personal distinction and noble reticence, says American art historian and author Anne Hollander, who considers fashion a sort of artistic document of culture.

Castiglione offered this advice to both sexes at a time when elaborate clothes in rich colours were prevalent among the rich and titled. Many courtiers thought this was a grand idea, hence the first black-clad fashionistas arrived at court.

That trend continued.

However, Holland says that because it suggested the remote look of both the unworldly priesthood and monastic orders, black garb was often the anti-fashion choice of dandies and intellectuals.

That's probably why it was so scandalous when, as pre-World War I social hierarchies faded, Coco Chanel daringly came up with the first little black dress in the 1920s, made from fabric that until then had been associated with widows and maids.

Then the hip young things of the late 1950s and the 1960s, some of the first "teenagers", got gloomy with everyday clothes. All black was the choice of the Beatnik rebel.

Black clothing was so sought after that it could be hard to track down. Teenagers had to resort to going to dancewear stores to get something as simple as black stockings.

Since then, all-black outfits have gone through several cycles of desirability.

In the 1980s, pink and grey ruled over the dark side. Then in the 1990s it was back with a vengeance - in the mid-90s, designer Miuccia Prada was the one leading the sombre-coloured straight-edged revival - just as she seems to be doing again.

Fashion is always about reacting to what came before. If you see free lovin' bohemians sporting bangles, tooled leather and espadrilles one week, then it's only natural to see black-clad goths, punks and minimalists the next.

That's possibly the key to going to the dark side before its intended season. The way designers have been doing black overseas hasn't involved much minimalism. In colour theory, there are 42 shades of black - and they're using every single one.

Although there is more emphasis on interesting and feminine shapes - with a puffy bell sleeve here and a tulip skirt or radical neckline there - you wouldn't call the look plain or sporty.

The choice of fabrics is far from utilitarian and includes loads of velvet, lace and satin. There are also pretty floral prints on black. While the overall look seems more austere and ladylike - ruffles, pretty details and hourglass waists - aesthetically it's more Alfred Hitchcock glam, beautiful gothic or Victorian.

With that in mind it's easier to incorporate a little shade into your summer wardrobe. A floaty boho-style black blouse, a black lace skirt, a black velvet jacket with black denim or any old little black dress - especially those that emphasise womanly curves - will see you ahead in the style stakes this summer.