Jump to attention

Rachel Wells
September 30, 2008 - 11:34AM

Floral trim jumpsuit, $350, from Replay.

THE jumpsuit has been vying for must-have fashion status ever since it first turned up here way back in spring-summer 2006-07, when the likes of Alice McCall, Kirrily Johnston, Arabella Ramsay and Zimmermann provided a handful of full-length boilersuits and bib-and-brace playsuits hemmed at the knee.

The most fashion-forward, or bravest, among us embraced them with ferocity - "Make that two, please" - but the rest of us simply watched from a safe distance.

Some of us pointed and laughed, while others wished they were courageous enough to actually slip one on. They didn't. They'd heard the sniggers.

However, if the recent spring-summer collections shown in New York and London are anything to go by, the jumpsuit may well be about to top the season's must-have list. And that means a few more of us may actually pluck up the courage to put one on. In fact, we already have.

Several frock watchers have dubbed the jumpsuit "the hottest" trend to have emerged from Bryant Park. And they were just as popular in London.

In New York, it was Proenza Schouler that led the way - with an '80s-inspired collection that had more jumpsuits than you could poke a stick at. There were tailored silk numbers, boldly zipped at the front and bib and braced at the neck, and baggy versions in black and silver sequins that were snapped in tightly at the ankles, and which one frock watcher compared to Manhattan's famous Chrysler building.

DKNY (denim boilersuits), Diane Von Furstenberg (tailored, short and strapless) and Australia's very own Willow (in draped orange jersey) were among other designers to display jumpsuits in New York.

In London, Ossie Clark, PPQ and Topshop Unique - all using '80s-inspired prints - also pounced on the jumpsuit bandwagon.

Here, Yeojin Bae has created some of the prettiest - strapless versions, ruffled at the bustline and snapped harem-style at the ankle, in black and peach. Fleur Wood's silk interpretations are just as pretty, from full-leg floral versions to short and strapless. Other interpretations can be found at Replay, Jade Michelle and Bracewell.

As gawker.com reminded us, this jumpsuit revival is good news for students of a Texas school who are being forced to don prison-style jumpsuits for a day if they violate the school's dress code. Perhaps a bubble skirt would be better punishment.

STOCKISTS
Fleur Wood 9282 9511 Jade Michelle 9319 2228 Replay 9319 3199 Yeojin Bae (03) 9529 2250