Every costume party for the past 3 years I have gone as Marie Antoinette. I step into sweeping floor length white skirts pouffed out by paniers, I set my hair in an updo and powder it to oblivion, I whiten my face and rouge my cheeks, I dig out my lace fan and dainty slippers and (faux) diamond chandelier earrings from the recesses of my jewellery drawer. No matter who the party is thrown by, no matter how many of my friends have seen the costume before, I am Marie Antoinette – young and fresh and bright as a star – in her Petits Trianon phase, oblivious to the revolution that will rage around her in a matter of years. I am enchanted by history and princesses, always have been. Although I may not dress like one in my calf-length skirts and belted tunic tops I imagine that in my own way I project the strength of Eleanor of Aquitaine or the allure of Cleopatra through confidence and, it must be said, accessories. What better to recall the glory days of Ancient Egypt than a string of turquoise beads? And for one glorious, glorious day I get to be a princess – Halloween, 21st Birthday Parties, Time Traveller parties – with all the flounces and flourishes and finery.
Mimco is having a Marie Antoinette moment, too. Inspired by history and foreign cultures and an elegance that is tempered by a hint of darkness, Mimco’s second 2010 collection, “an unpredictable revolution” presents a world that both recalls the annals of history whilst reinforcing a strong modernity. The collection explores the ideas of darkness and gothic romance that dominate our popular imagination as well as the lightness and the simple, simple beauty of an elegance that is born, not created. Their historical muses – the debutantes, the princesses, the goddesses – are at once both fantastical and real. They are imbued with the sense of tragedy and beauty and power that real modern women have.
I have been contacted by Mimco to interpret their new collection, along with several other bloggers. We have been charged to see this collection through our own eyes. This is how I see it. This collection is a chance to live out the fashion fantasy. I believe personally that fashion is moving to a place that is far more real. Why else have we seen collections of things like Camel Coats, Kitten Heels and sensible knitwear rather than Power Shoulders, Sequinned Leggings and heels that light up? We want to dress in a way that is real. However, I would argue that reality for many women – women who see movies and read magazines and devour novels – is informed by a degree of fantasy. We are real, we wear sensible a-line skirts and brush our hair, but we want just a little something to enthral us. A bit of sparkling jewel, a bit of curved heel, a flash of wild colour. Enter Mimco’s new collection.
mimco corset day bag in geranium
With the cross stitching connecting panels of quilted leather and suede the tortured elegance day bag recalls the laces of corsets. The colour, entitled “geranium” by Mimco is the washed out red of lipstick from the night before. It is the colour of red wine stains on a white table-cloth. It is the colour of a raspberry macaron. The “unpredictable revolution” Mimco collection is your chance to buy into every girl’s fashion fantasy. You can be a Phoebe Philo Urban Warrior in oil-slick navy blue coats and leather skirts, but tuck this ruby red bag under your arm and you can allude to the tortured elegance and dark romance of times past. Or swing it from your shoulder or grip it from the top handles – this is a bag that is multi-purpose modern whilst harking back to a hidden history. Mimco has built its fortune on the idea that an accessory can transform an outfit. I truly believe that. Not that you are incomplete without them, but with the right accessories you can transcend the ordinary and take clothing into the extraordinary.
When Marie Antoinette retreated to her Petits Trianon it was to escape the excess of the Chateau Versailles. She dispensed with the storey-high wigs and the rigorous rules and dressed the way she felt in flimsy cotton gowns perfect for nature frolicking and enjoying life. But, like the modern woman retreating into reality from the fashion heyday of the 2000s, Marie Antoinette couldn’t quite rid herself of the beauty altogether. It was a revolution, but an unpredictable one. She needed a little sparkle - some bijoux - in her life. When it comes to this new Mimco collection, twisted and dark and full of things that capture the imagination, I think she would understand. You can't be serious all the time. After all, girls just want to have fun.
the Mimco Unpredictable Revolution campaign video starring Emma Balfour
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