'This video is dedicated to touching' reads the opening caption of Harry Styles' inevitable number-one-to-be, 'Watermelon Sugar'. And the realisation hits hard, like remembering you've left the front door open as you walk into the office, or the fresh stack of 20 pound notes that weren't actually plucked from the ATM. Because summer is almost as good as cancelled. No feeding fresh fruits to a coterie of beautiful extras, no buying said fresh fruits from the bottomless pit of a beach vendor's cooler box.
Still, those at the Factory of Big Pop Bangers have been deemed necessary workers, and the release of Styles ode to fructose has cut the ribbon on summer. Not crowding onto a plague-ridden beach summer, but that of summer dressing. For while we can't do all those lovely things like pass items to our friends (and, yes, touch one another), one shirt from the look-heavy 'Watermelon Sugar' video not only stands out as a Very Solid Piece, but also manages to tie together the trends of yesteryear with the moments of this season.
One: there's the Cuban collar. An enduring piece that's on the cusp of becoming a classic in and of itself, every brand worth it's salt has either offered up something new for Spring/Summer '20, or doubled-down on their previous output. Prada was one of the first, and yes, they too are revisiting the summer chevron. Lest we forget the colour. A nod to the Slim Aarons vacation that sadly eschewed our generation, Sunny D yellows are the right way to take the LSD Sixties into safer, warmer climes, especially under the deft hand of brand-of-the-moment Bode.
As the sustainable brainchild of Atlanta-born designer Emily Bode, the eponymous label takes the antique fabrics of yore and respins them into something new using historical techniques, like embroidery or applique. Here stand clothes that are cared about. And, as a chief proponent of the big patchwork revival, it's the sort of considered upcycling that looks as good as its green credentials sound. In 2020 and beyond, that is perhaps the most important shift in fashion.
So do not cry, holiday-less friend. There is something you can touch this summer after all, and it's called a really great shirt. Styles's is a custom one-of-a-kinder, of course. But visit Bode online to get a similar footing in your wardrobe.
Available to enquire at bodenewyork.com
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