Monica Sklar, an assistant professor in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences, was quoted in The Guardian about the fashion trend of folding clothes to create a new look.
At Jacquemus, dresses folded at the waist became skirts. At Calvin Klein’s spring 2019 show, a tie-dye neoprene top folded over to become a miniskirt. Zara has a gray cashmere skirt with an elastic band designed for folding, while Finery has a selection of jumpers with too-long sleeves, meant to be folded back.
According to Sklar, there are three reasons why folding has made a comeback: individuality, sexuality-slash-gender and a backlash against fast fashion.
“It might seem tangential, the idea of personalizing things by folding them,” said Sklar, who studies 20th- and 21st-century design history, theory and criticism and social-cultural aspects of dress in conjunction with merchandising, retailing and consumers. “But in this age of Instagram, you need a tweak that distinguishes you from everyone else. It’s about not subscribing to one notion of sexiness. And it’s not obvious. It’s about playing with what you reveal, and owning what you reveal. Folding turns a garment into something else entirely. It’s art for art’s sake but it’s also upcycling.”