Stripes, a line that asserts style

In the style of a banker riding the tailoring wave of the season, they are making a strong comeback. A character trait we'll love to assert.

Broad-shouldered jackets, white shirts, pleated pants, pencil skirts, and polished shoes... In just a few months, the suit wardrobe has become the ultimate statement look again, one that brings together generations and styles. "From Gen Z to boomers, everyone is now wearing an oversized jacket with matching (or not) pants, whether it's for the office or a night out," says Marie Dupin, Business Director of Fashion and Lifestyle at NellyRodi agency. But for the new season, in the wardrobe of trendy women, the tailoring look takes an even more formal turn. The reason? The banker stripe. Yes, that fine-lined pattern that adorned the shoulders of all working girls in the 1980s is back to bask in glory and adoration once again. And it has never been sharper: it's sexy when Hailey Bieber adopts it on a highly structured blazer with a micro-bralette underneath; ultra-sexy when Kendall Jenner decides to wear it directly on the skin; streetwear when Rihanna, Beyoncé, and Dua Lipa give their very loose pleated pants a twist with sneakers.

The runways of the Fall-Winter 2023-2024 Fashion Week are the ultimate proof of this resurgence. From Saint Laurent to Balenciaga, Stella McCartney, Courrèges, Dries Van Noten, Bottega Veneta, and Ralph Lauren, the vertical stripe is more popular than ever under the needles of designers. Masculine on a suit, feminine on a strapless dress... If the fine stripe deconstructs the question of gender this season, it still references a very masculine look. In the 19th century, the pinstriped suit was exclusively worn by British bankers who wished to distinguish themselves from the common man in black attire. In the 1920s, mobsters and gangster cinema made it their uniform.

We all have in mind Bernard Blier in "Les Tontons Flingueurs" (1963) or Al Pacino in "Scarface" (1983). Once considered has-been, it was chosen again by financiers in the early 1980s, especially Wall Street traders. "Women who wore pinstripe suits to the office in the eighties were pioneers, akin to heroines in an almost 100% testosterone-driven world," explains Thomas Zylberman, a stylist and trendsetter at Carlin. A classic silhouette, a structured line, formal minimalism... Far from stereotypes, the comeback of the stripe seems to shed light today on urban life, as a revival of social interaction with colleagues, away from remote work and professional isolation.

"Clearly, it's not the kind of outfit you'd wear for a countryside trip," points out the trendsetter. "But it's also a response to the Instagram fashion that has taken over our lives in recent years. To understand: the more outrageous, crazy, patterned, and colorful the look posted on the social network, the trendier it is. No, having style isn't just about flashy pixels on a phone screen. In 2023, we're returning to real fashion, characterized by clean cuts and beautiful fabrics. A structured look, more sustainable, with lasting style, and thus more in line with contemporary society." Stripes are the way to go.