As a young aspiring dancer, I was fascinated by bows. Fastened in just the right way, coiling around the ankle like a vine, expertly tied on the inside of the leg… For me, nothing completed a ballet slipper more than a bow. I looked forward to receiving my bows (usually earned when a dancer reaches Grade 3 on the Royal Academy of Dance syllabus) more than I did to moving on to pointe shoes. When I was finally old enough to adorn my slippers, I took great care in my bow ritual. The bows were bubblegum pink when new, and I would stay up late, carefully dyeing them in a boiling tea bath until they were the right shade to match my slippers and tights, before hand-stitching them on at the perfect ergonomic angle. I enjoyed the task of learning how to tie my bows; I felt like I had reached the finish line. I was one step closer to looking and feeling like a real ballerina.
In today's fashion ecosystem, the versatility of a bow is on full display.
Bows are easy to romanticize, especially as we come out of Brat Summer, where Charli XCX’s “Everything Is Romantic” has served as a sonic companion to the resurgence of ballerinas, puffy skirts, and, yes, bows. The way a bow is styled communicates very different things: for example, not all bows are bows, but a bow transforms a bow. In today’s fashion ecosystem, the versatility of a bow is on full display. The London-based designer Simone Rocha's bow earrings They have become a staple. They are thin and light, and they complete any outfit. The Shanghai brand Shushu/Tong Employing bow maximalism, each piece incorporates at least one bow, resulting in playful yet understated garments. The New York designer Sandy Liang's summer collaboration with Salomon Use ribbons and bows to give a refreshing touch to the gorp style. Style influencers They've been democratically tying bows on everything from over-ear headphones to bag straps and headbands.
In all its serene defiance, Prada’s embroidered ribbon dress is also all about bow. In the brand’s fall/winter 2024 women’s collection, aptly titled “Instinctive Romance,” designers Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons play with hard and soft, black and pink, fitted and relaxed, to propose fall’s most poetic take on romantic fashion, culminating in an embroidered ribbon dress—a sleeveless dress made from 35 hand-cut, tied and embroidered bows that cascaded from the neck to the knee. The bows danced as models walked the runway during the collection’s show at the Prada Foundation in Milan in tone-on-tone versions in eggplant and baby pink paired with knee-high black boots. The back of the dress featured an unexpected panel of black silk, minimalist and bow-less. As the models turned to march backstage, their ribbon trains confidently extended from the front in a joyous embrace. (Chioma Nnadi, editor-in-chief of British Vogue, described the dress as the “bow” of the season.)
“Made in Prada: Fragments of Romance” (Courtesy of Prada)
Prada’s design team used complex techniques to animate each bow in a completely intentional way. The first step involved placing the ribbon embroidery in a classic chevron pattern. Next, the embroiderer cut the satin ribbons at precise angles to match the pattern and attached them to the fabric by hand. Next, 35 bows were prepared; they were shaped and ironed one by one before being sewn at specified points along the chevron pattern created by the ribbons. The next step involved attaching the embroidered fabric to the contrasting black silk lining, then a second pressing was performed, followed by the sewing of additional bows at the hips and around the neck. After 50 metres of ribbon and 13 hours of embroidery, the dress was finished.
The ribbons on this dress, brought to life by craftsmanship that can only be done by hand, are alive. They speak, to be sure, but they don’t shout. Miuccia Prada’s long-standing love of ribbons is well documented at her other label, Miu Miu, where creative references to ballet and femininity are often the undercurrent of each collection. Prada’s embroidered ribbon dress is the chic aunt’s take on Miu Miu’s preeminent, forever youthful dress. ballerinas with bucklesBoth items prove that cute and durable can come together in a way that only Prada can achieve.
Fernanda wears embroidered dresses from Prada’s Fall/Winter 2024 “Instinctive Romance” collection.
Bows and ribbons, long categorised as clichés of femininity, have been reduced to stereotypes, rather than the attractive and versatile tool they are. Perhaps the current resurgence of bows in fashion is due to a desire to reclaim this narrative, whilst simultaneously romanticising our lives in turbulent times. less More romantic than an election year? A bow is a sweet touch to tame the bitter, but it is also confident and fluid in its dimensions, expressing much more than it is given credit for.
In rhythmic gymnastics, ribbons become an extension of the dancer’s body, marking each movement with equal parts control and abandon. Stevie Wonder used ribbons as a metaphor for endless love. From awareness ribbons to gift-giving, ribbons are also used to show compassion and care. In many communities, ribbons and bows play an important cultural role, from intricate hair braiding traditions in Guatemala to sacred ribbon skirts in indigenous North American tribes. What then is a ribbon but a vehicle for deep connection and communication? A bow, however saccharine, is symbolic and powerful. A reclamation of cute and a potent, universal tool for self-expression. Let’s call it the bow attitude.
Model Fernanda Alvarez
Hair and makeup Carla Perez
Styling Assistant Deirdre Marcial
Romany Williams is a writer, editor and stylist based on Vancouver Island, Canada. Her contributors include SSENSE, Atmos, LA Times Image and many more.
