The dress has dominated womenswear for years - from red-carpet gowns to everyday tunics, shifts and wraps. But at New York Fashion Week last week, Marc Jacobs signalled a shift when he presented skirts as the biggest trend so far for spring/summer 2009. And for once in fashion, it seems that the high street may be ahead of the catwalk.
'Our skirt sales are up 120 per cent year on year,' said Emma Wisden, buying director for Topshop. 'We haven't had a big skirt trend for five years, but now we are taking huge money on them.'
Wisden said that sales of skirts have been strong since Easter, with an increase in wild and voluminous styles. 'We've got the key volume shapes like the short ra-ra or the lantern,' she said. 'Women are wearing them like a replacement to a ballet skirt, with a tight top and leggings, and all the volume in the skirt.'
Wisden described the type of customer buying the new style as 'a girl who's a bit more savvy; she wants to look different, not the same as someone next to her in the pub. With separates you can do that.'
The shift signals an end of the ladylike trend, in which dresses once seen as prim became an acceptable part of the wardrobe. 'Dresses are over,' said Melanie Rickey, fashion features editor of Grazia. 'Fashion needs to change. Now it's all about separates. Everyone in our office is pulling on skirts and trying to work out what goes with them.' Fear of this need to co-ordinate is a reason why the dress has lingered so long, according to some commentators. 'The dress has dominated fashion with good reason,' says Harriet Quick, fashion features director of Vogue. 'One piece, and you are ready to go. It means that skirts have been on the backburner. But next season is pointing towards a romantic skirt like those at Marc Jacobs, with tiers and flounces.'
Jacobs matched his calf-length skirts, which were often in metallic fabric, with exuberantly clashing plaid and gingham shirts, the waists sometimes wrapped in yet another shimmering fabric to heighten the contrast. The collection was hailed as the best show of the week, with influential trade paper WWD ending its review with the words, 'if I were another designer in New York, I'd slit my wrists'.
Jacobs showed that rather than being rigid about co-ordination, the new skirt should be worn as a purposeful clash to create an individual outfit. It is the sort of style being championed by celebrities like Pixie Geldof and Alexa Chung.
Other designers in New York also focused on the skirt, particularly British designer Jonathan Saunders, who opened his show with a series of neat jackets worn with short but voluminous skirts. 'Saunders made a big case for the fluid style that was draped above the knee, married with military tailoring,' said Quick.
Although fashion is speedy to grab new trends, the ones they replace tend to fade slowly. Dresses were still in evidence at the New York shows, with some labels focusing heavily on them. Marchesa has become known for its Hollywood-friendly gowns, which is apt since its British-born co-designer, Georgina Chapman, is married to movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. Also debuting was Victoria Beckham's range of dresses, which surprised many with their quality, even if they did remind most of Roland Mouret, whose backer, Simon Fuller, happens to be Beckham's manager.
The spotlight shifts to London, where the shows begin today, before moving on to Milan. But the message from New York was best put by Jacobs. At the end of his show, as if making a nod to his own trend, he took his bow wearing a kilt.
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