Fashion

THE SIX MEGA IMPORTANT STYLE LESSONS FROM ISABEL MARANT

My sight recently planted itself on style lessons from Isabel Marant. They were in the summer edition of PORTER Magazine (you know, from Net-a-Porter) and hey, I couldn’t keep them from you now could I? Listen, uh, read, and learn!

Rule no. 1: Fashion is not important

What she’s trying to say is that you should wear something because you like it and it suits you, and not because it’s in fashion. Everything she makes is made to be worn so she doesn’t just make clothes for the show. Nope: everyone that does that should go work for a theater costume department according to Isabel.

Rule no. 2: Never worry about what anyone else thinks

It’s all about how you feel when you wear something. Dressing is about instinct, ease and comfort. The advice: take your own path. The world is fake and vulgar enough already.

Rule no. 3: Don’t make people wear things you wouldn’t wear

It’s one of the first things Isabel was taught at school (Studio Berçot). She takes the term prêt-à-porter for what it really means and always questions: what would I personally want to wear today?

”The only one who was comfortably dressed was – you guessed correctly – Isabel herself’

Rule no. 4: Don’t be dictated to by old style rules

In a nutshell: only wear things that suit you. And never wear anything because you think other people expect you to. An example that Isa mentioned was when she and her friends (obviously a group of models and actresses) went to the opening of the opera season and yes, everyone was decked out in long couture dresses. However, no one looked like themselves and at the end of the evening a lot of the dresses were torn because people had stood on them all throughout the night. The only one who was comfortably dressed was – you guessed correctly – Isabel herself. She wore black trousers with an embroidered top. Isabel’s motto: ‘I think the time of wearing what you are expected to wear has gone.

Rule no. 5: There is no such thing as the perfect outfit

This one felt like a revelation: the perfect outfit does not exist. It’s all about learning what suits you. Some items might work for one person, but that doesn’t mean they’ll work for you. And vice versa. The perfect outfit depends on the person themselves, the situation and his or her lifestyle.

Rule no. 6: Your style will evolve

Even when you’ve got your own unique style, found your uniform, your style will still always be evolving. When Isabel met her husband Jérôme Dreyfuss, he would always look very chic and well pulled together while Isabel was more completely the contrary and she labeled herself as more of a ’tramp’. Her husband would be approached by chic and sexy women, tad bit bitchy too, and she would be approached by the casual crowd. However, the two have now melted more in line and as she states: ‘Jérôme is less perfect and I am more pulled together’.

Source: PORTER Magazine, summer edition 2016