Learn your stripes: a history of fashion’s favourite pattern

Stripes were all over the spring/summer 2022 runway. But then again, they always have been. Stripes are a fashion mainstay, style’s favourite print with a decade-long history as a shorthand for chic. Breton, nautical or pinstripe - there is variation for everyone and rarely is there a dedicated follower of fashion who does not own a stripe or three.

This season alone, there was a merry menagerie of stripes. Consider Duro Olowu’s candy cane stripes juxtaposed against blocks of black, or Kenneth Ize, Alaia and JW Anderson’s fringed verticals. Vetements took a 1980s approach to buzzy lines of an electrical wire-esque design, Lacoste – true to form - took a sporting bent in racer-green stripes, and there was a feast of monochrome, from Caroline Hererra’s show-stopping gowns to Balmain’s contrasting horizontal and vertical patterns.

Nautical stripes, as ever, dominated. Like Schiaparelli’s beach hut red shirt dress and Max Mara’s pastel blue and sand yellow short-sleeved shirt – the perfect addition to a high-waisted bikini. Here, Molly Goddard’s red and black jumper proves the perfect after-dark vacation wear, while Barrie’s cashmere eau-de-nil striped shirt paired with crisp white shorts and laced ballet pumps make for a yacht appropriate ensemble to make Grace Kelly proud.

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A coastal setting is, of course, the natural habitat of stripes, which first found sartorial favour as the official uniform of French sailors in 1858, having been the staple of Breton fisherman for years. Coco Chanel made these Breton’s haute in 1917, thanks to her nautical-themed collection of that year. Stripes were a balustrade of beach culture – from huts and suits to windbreakers. With the advent of increased leisure time and the boom of foreign travel in the post-war years, the influence of coastal style grew – becoming a fixture of style icons Audrey Hepburn and Brigitte Bardot. Not to mention a globally-recognised shorthand for French style, which dominated much of 20th-century fashion.

The pattern has never been far from a runway since Chanel first explored it. It has become a signature of many brands, like Sonia Rykiel – whose career exploded when French Elle put Francois Hardy on the cover in 1963, wearing her now-iconic multi-coloured stripes. These would remain central to her aesthetic throughout her years, especially the bold white, red and blue creations of her 1989 collections. Tommy Hilfiger would become American fashion’s main champion of stripes, adopting his nation’s patriotic verticals in many of his designs, not to mention his logo, which would explode in popularity in the 1990s – from bandeau crop tops to hoodies. Then, of course, there is Jean Paul Gaultier – whose sailor aesthetic is as ubiquitous to his legacy as the coned bra of Madonna, and whose embodiment of stripes’ original torch bearers remains an ineffaceable inspiration.

The beauty of stripes is that there is one for everyone and no wrong way to wear them. Embrace a pyjama style, like Victoria Beckham’s shirt and trouser combo or Joseph’s knitted flares and optical illusion barred jumper. Any colour - from popsicle brights, like Fendi’s pink and orange sunshine silks to the monochrome precision of Petar Petrov- goes. Whether it’s classic ocean hues, like Marni’s bold dress, Jil Sander’s soft sandy shades, Chloé’s fun fringes and the zany, swirling confection of Tod’s mini dress- you don’t need to stay in line to play with stripes.

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