A hard-working capsule wardrobe is considered the holy grail in fashion; editors get very excited about any new exemplars of everyday-chic. One such piece emerged at the autumn/winter 2022 shows and looked deliciously good for all its simplicity. Welcome to your T-shirt drawers, the plain white vest.
But of course, a white tee is never plain when executed by the likes of Prada, Bottega Veneta and Chloé. When Kaia Gerber exited the Fondazione Prada wearing a pristine tank with the Italian mega brand’s triangular plaque stamped front and centre, we all craned our necks at the stroke of mastery from Miuccia Prada and her co-creative director Raf Simons. So simple! Yet so perfect! Euphoria star Hunter Schafer closed the show wearing another throw-on-and-go vest, signalling that the utilitarian basic will be big news across the board next season.
While Mrs Prada recommends you team your box-fresh tanks with this season’s sequined, sheer (of course) pencil skirts, at Bottega the mood was more pragmatic than party-centric, courtesy of new head of the house Matthieu Blazy. The #newnewBottega head had been thinking about clothing to move in. “There’s many characters,” he said of his muses. “They all have places to go, they feel quite free.” All that internal percolating led to exquisitely soft, slim-fit tops that are more streamlined and classic-looking than the racer-styles we saw gaining traction last season. (If you’re keen to get ahead of the trend curve, Sunspel’s superfine underwear range is a good place to start).
At Chloé, Gabriela Hearst’s green-minded outlook is always a welcome reminder that fashion is not disposable – even if it’s a white tee you picked up in Arket for £15 (a approved favourite, FYI). The eco-pioneer’s building-block tops formed the basis of her wonderfully stripped-back aesthetic and proved that when you invest in quality pieces, they stand up on their own. This season, nothing looks chicer than a Tippex-white strap top tucked into a pair of leather trousers.
The tank redux echoed a season of souped-up basics, such as shirt and ties at Gucci and Louis Vuitton, and the glamification of normal clothing hacks, like tying your jumper around your waist, as seen at Bottega and Nicolas Ghesquière’s teen-spirited show. As maximalist trends play out across the board elsewhere, from the persistence of pantaboots to the acres of skin on display, it pays to know that pared-back minimalism wins the long game. A word to the wise? Invest in The Laundress’s whites detergent and start cutting down on your coffee consumption quick.
