Resort Report: It’s Going To Be A Very Tropical (Print) Summer

Balmy days call for easy, loose silhouettes — and more than a bit of fun. Jessica Beresford rounds up the trends shaping the summer season.

Wish you were here

Hawaiian shirts have had a bad rap, largely thanks to their affiliation with obnoxious tourists, as illustrated by artist Duane Hanson’s sculptures of couples on holiday. But there’s something refreshing — and perhaps a little tongue-in-cheek — about wearing a big, juicy, tropical print in the height of summer, as an alternative to a run-of-the-mill floral.

Designers internationally have been sharing in this sentiment for their resort collections: at Dries Van Noten, a long gown with puff sleeves featured a blown-up black-and-white tropical print and an oversized jumpsuit was festooned with luscious pink and red flowers; at Etro, hibiscus flowers were printed on a shirt dress; while at Max Mara, monstera leaves covered a bomber jacket, as well as a long, billowing kaftan that would be right at home at a resort, mimosa in hand.

In Wynn Hamlyn’s resort collection, shown in Sydney last May, a classic Hawaiian print was translated onto a spaghetti strap with a plunging neckline and a shirt-and-short co-ordinate. Penny Sage, too, has drawn on the tropical motif for the brand’s summer collection, with a print designed by longtime collaborator Marta Buda. She drew the flowers while doing a residency at Driving Creek Pottery Studio in Coromandel, painting with Indian ink on butter paper to achieve the effect.

“I love the wild, giant cosmos flowers with the flirty silhouettes,” says designer Kate Megaw. “We wanted the print and styles it’s featured on to encapsulate the joy of summer, something that makes you feel like you’re on the ultimate holiday; beautiful pieces that are easy to throw on over your togs, unfussy and fun.”

It’s featured on the new Mia dress and skirt, which are “resort-y” wrap styles, as well as on the cotton Double Fantasy top and floppy Frank hat. “We hope people go all out and mix and match the different colourways together,” adds Megaw.

The rodeo has always served as sartorial inspiration: look at Madonna’s 2003 video for Don’t Tell Me, in which the singer has a hoedown in a western uniform, or more recently in Solange’s When I Get Home, which enlists a cast of characters in cowboy hats and boots.

Fashion designers, too, are endlessly inspired by the ranch: Raf Simons’ debut collection for Calvin Klein in 2017 was an ode to western style, while Ralph Lauren has spent half a century plumbing the depths of the all-American outfit.

Dior creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri, who took inspiration from Spain for her resort 2023 show, featured chaps in broderie anglaise leather, as well as pairs made from the brand’s signature Oblique canvas and quilted Cannage. At Gucci, models wore black leather studded waistcoats and thigh-high lace-up boots. MSGM’s resort collection featured a tasseled jacket with matching trousers, while Dion Lee’s included panelled-and-padded leather trousers that looked rodeo enough to throw a lasso in.

Local brand Paris Georgia first offered cowboy-inspired trousers in 2020, and has since made the style a staple. This season, these are realised in faux leather in green ‘mist’ and cream with bubblegum-pink piping.

Danish brand Ganni, meanwhile, has made a hit out of its cowboy boots, with the brand’s original black-and-white pair becoming a street-style favourite. For resort, the brand has launched a tan pair with white embroidery, as well as a matching western satchel; both are stocked at Queenstown-based Seletti Concept Store.

“Cool girls have always worn cowboy boots,” says founder Anna Cooney. “It’s the shoe trend that keeps giving.” Seletti also offers suede fringed jackets from Halfboy, rodeo-ready denim and boots from Anine Bing and paisley-printed prairie dresses by Isabel Marant. “She’s always one to pair a feminine dress with a more sturdy piece of footwear such as a cowboy boot,” adds Cooney.

Gather around

The grip that early 2000s style has on fashion is unrelenting. Along with low-slung denim, visible thongs and cargo pants comes gathering, draping and shirring — particularly where tight-fitting silhouettes are concerned.

More elegant, perhaps, is Victoria Beckham’s take on the trend, with an emerald-green, mid-length dress with gathering along one side, and Proenza Schouler, who posited a floor-length orange dress with rouching.

Locally, designer Wynn Hamlyn has made simple tops and dresses with gathering that snakes along the front and back, while Paris Georgia has gone for a more Grecian effect, with heavy draping along the front and back of skirts. Maggie Marilyn, meanwhile, has gone for a more youthful approach, with a puff-sleeved gingham dress with gathering and ruching at the waist.

Short stories

One of the more controversial trends to come out of this year is jorts — usually full-length jeans cut at the knees — which have not typically been deemed the most flattering of shapes. But fashion loves to provoke: Givenchy heavily distressed the front of theirs, Gucci gave denim shorts a jewel-studded upgrade, while Diesel styled them with a matching bra.

Less divisive are longer tailored shorts, such as the classic Bermuda, which sit high at the waist and go wider at the thighs. These were present at Chanel, which sent a boxer-style with matching jacket down the runway; Dior, in embroidered black and white; and Ports 1961; which paired a heavenly white pair with a matching jacket.

But it’s Zambesi that presents the perfect short silhouette: a simple boxer style with an elasticated waist that sits mid-thigh, that are available in port, ochre and hazel. For a more polished look, there’s also a matching blazer, called the Electronic, which is unstructured and unlined and “looks great on men and really great on females as well, because it’s just so effortless to put on,” adds Zambesi menswear designer Dayne Johnston.

Take a bow

Few garments are as stereotypically feminine as a pussy bow blouse. Both saccharine and serious, it was favoured by trailblazers Coco Chanel and Marlene Dietrich, worn as a stand-in for a tie by political figures Margaret Thatcher and Nancy Reagan, and lent a certain juvenilia to Princess Diana’s outfit in her engagement photos to the now King Charles.

Gucci designer Alessandro Michele, who has a distinct 70s flair to his work, has included pussy bow blouses in his collections for the last few years; so too has Anthony Vaccarello at Saint Laurent, carrying on the brand’s retro legacy.

At Balenciaga’s resort runway show, held at the New York Stock Exchange in May, creative director Demna Gvasalia chose to coordinate silky, oversized pussy bow blouses with black latex fetishwear — a powerful statement if ever there was one. More palatable are the bows at Erdem, where they adorn waists and shoulders on dramatic eveningwear, and at Acne, which features shift dresses with bows printed on the front.

This season Karen Walker dialed up the frilliness, adding fluted sleeves to the garment, while Kate Sylvester kept things summery with a short sleeve, bow-tie dress. Designer Mahsa Willis, who launched her brand in 2015, has made the pussy bow a signature to her collections.

“I was initially struck by the style’s romance, but wanted to make it feel more utilitarian and wabi-sabi,” says Willis. “Crafting it in white, jungle green, and camel cotton poplins and voiles made it feel more modernist and relaxed.” She generally pairs it with jeans and loafers, to appeal to a broader audience. “I think pitching the ease and romance of this garment has resonated with customers.”