So unless you’ve been living in the wilderness these past five years, you’ve probably seen (or at least heard of) Natalie Portman’s dark and provocative portrayal of a rising ballerina in last year’s blockbuster thriller, Black Swan. What you might not have heard about is this year’s continuing devotion to the feminine and mysterious qualities that make Natalie’s twisted character a classic good girl gone bad.
This past Halloween, a myriad of “Black Swan” costumes hit the streets in nearly every city in the United States, including everything from expensive tiara’s, to actual second hand tutus, loads of natural and faux feathers, and of course, distinctive black eye makeup in the shape of wings. Even celebrities were getting in on the action, like Chloe Grace Moretz, the budding teen actress who recently starred as Abby in the acclaimed English language remake, Let Me In.
So how does the cinematic vision of a fractured Swan Lake translate into mainstream fashion? Glad you asked! The Black Swan fashion aesthetic takes the best parts of our character’s style and personality and incorporates them effortlessly into extremely chic light gothic Holiday wear. And by the best parts, I’m referring to femininity, grace, mystique, and one of my favorite things: feathers.
That’s right. Encompassing everything from downy, almost angelic wings, to ebony images of the illusive black swan herself, winter fashion this year has flights of ultra-femme fancy in store. On everything from cocktail frocks, to evening wear, bags, boots, hair accessories, and most of all jewelry, carved, feathered, etched, or dangled avian allusions are the thing of the moment. And for those who are pierced, it’s definitely playtime.
Designers like Kabuki, Hakaan, Dior, Bebe, Topshop, Ohne Titel, Antonio Marras, Junya Watanabe, Prabal Gurung, and countless others have already picked up on the trend and begun offering dark, romantic, and chicly polished eveningwear and accessories that blend soft and innocent feathers with dark and dangerous leathers, vinyls, weaves, and brocades. Looking for your own piece of the Black Swan pie? Just find yourself some feathers, and the rest (as they say) is fashion history.
