With a revival of crafting, the patchwork trend is having a moment
Quilting-style fashion is back and we're loving it even more this time round, with it unique mosaic of dresses, jackets and gilets
The nostalgic cottagecore trend, which has predisposed us to wafting tiered dresses, lashings of broderie Anglaise and big collars for the past few seasons, now brings us another gift: patchwork.
The homespun-looking dress, above, by British brand Albaray, sold out in a flash, fuelling searches for ‘patchwork dress’ to rise a staggering 259% week-on-week. But the good news is that it’s still available in both a jacket (below) and a reversible gilet. 'They’re more wearable than you think when teamed with wardrobe staples,' assures stylist Lucy Reber. 'I’ll be pairing a patchwork jacket with a white tee and blue jeans. It’s also a great piece for trans-seasonal layering: slip it on under a classic trench to bring the look bang up to date.'
Pop star Harry Styles put patchworking on the ‘new hobbies acquired in lockdown’ agenda when pictures of him rehearsing in a cardigan made up of crocheted squares prompted fans to document their own versions on TikTok, going viral in the process. And assured knitter Tom Daley (aka Olympic diving gold medalist) responded by whipping up his own version.
Albaray’s colourful take on the trend is a bit of a cheat, in that patchwork pieces individual sections of fabrics together – a painstaking and labour-intensive craft – whereas its designs are printed and then quilted. If you're a dab hand with a needle, you could have a go yourself. But if the shift in weather (hello, sunny days!) has you hankering after something ready-made, here are a few highlights below. But you’d better be quick…