How to wear neoprene on the street? This hot-right-now textile is determined to prove it can survive on dry land...
Neoprene isn't normally a fabric you would consider for everyday wear. It's the rubbery synthetic fabric produced by free-radical polymerisation of the chemical 2-chlorobutadine, traditionally used to make wetsuits and in hydroponic gardening. So, why has this slightly strange textile been showing up on countless international ready to wear runways over the past year?
Sport lux is one of the biggest and fastest growing trends in fashion. This modern trend was first documented on the fringes of the international fashion circus by street-style bloggers in the early noughties. The sport lux trend has since blossomed into a refined and contemporary rare combination - a trend that is both practical and elegantly chic. Alexander Wang's conceptual and stylish collections always combine the understated grittiness, crisp tailoring and athletic undertones of this trend perfectly.
Neoprene is the technological foundation to the current exaggerated sports inspired high athletic wear. It allows futuristic styling to appear sexy, new and versatile. The use of neoprene combined with fabrics such as chiffon, jersey & leather provide an unconventional alien edge to traditional every day ready to wear pieces. It can be manipulated to create super sharp clean lines in direct contrast to structured frills, making it the perfect fabric to sculpt out striking body-con and voluminous silhouettes.
It's no surprise that this highly wearable textile previously exclusive to water sports is fast becoming the fabric of choice for high profile designers...
LOOK 1
Sheer chiffon stripes and oversized trinkets evoke a fever pitch unsuitable for any playing field.
Stripe tee dress with organza overlay by T Alexander Wang £365. Pyrite stone shark tooth necklace £915 & Obsedia python leather bracelet £415 both by Givenchy all available at Harvey Nichols Edinburgh. Double spike ring £55 & Angel Wing ring both available at www.tresdemented.com. Super opaque tights (customised by stylist) £21 per pair at American Apparel Glasgow. Lottie black suede tennis shoe with rubber sole by Deena & Ozzy £55 at www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk
LOOK 2
Full-length front zippers on neoprene dresses mirror the provocative fantasy of unpeeling yourself on the beach after a scuba dive.
Black neoprene dress with white front zipper by T Alexander Wang £285. Single cone shark-tooth earring by Givenchy £360 both available at Harvey Nichols Edinburgh. Super opaque tights (customised by stylist) £21 per pair at American Apparel Glasgow. Karla white leather sandal with rubber sole by Out From Under £65 at www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk
LOOK 3
Go monochrome! Super cropped tops in basic block colours create shapes that are simplistic in stretch jersey cotton. Combine with a boxy neoprene cropped minimal jacket for an 80s inspired youthful mood.
Black neoprene cropped bomber jacket £300, cropped sweater £160 & skirt £155 all by T Alexander Wang. Single shark-tooth earring £435 by Givenchy all available at Harvey Nichols Edinburgh. Double spike ring £55, Angel Wing ring £85 & LUXE ring £110 all available at www.tresdemented.com. Tia oversized link chain necklace £148 at All Saints. Silver diamante crystal bracelet £59.50 by Lola & Grace at House of Fraser Glasgow. Super opaque tights in black & pebble (customised by stylist) £21 per pair at American Apparel Glasgow. Dioon textile open buckled boot by Vagabond £75 at www.urbanoutfitters.co.uk
Styling: Lisa Ringrose
Photography: Jeff Mars
Hair: Isabella Watson Creative Director at Toni & Guy Glasgow using Extra Strong mousse, Shine Mist & hairspray all by www.labelm.com
Make Up: Vicky Cameron using www.maccosmetics.co.uk and www.dermalogica.co.uk
Nails: Champagne Nail Bar at Harvey Nichols Edinburgh using Gel Effect polish in the colour Mayfair Lane by www.nailsinc.com
Spray Tan: The Beauty Store at Virginia Court Glasgow, using www.st-tropez.com
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article