Overalls: From Workman’s Uniform to the Runway

Invented in the mid 19th-century by Frenchman Adolphe Lafont for his carpenter stepfather, overalls would go on to be perfected by the American brand Levi’s before becoming the flagship garment of the Industrial Revolution. It was immortalized by Charlie Chaplin in the legendary Modern Times, that denounced Fordism. It also became the symbol of farmers affected by the Great Depression in The Grapes of Wrath, adapted for the screen by John Ford.

Starting in the 50s, overalls democratized themselves and left the fields and the factory to make an appearance in the streets. The fashion world would go on to adopt and reinterpret it. A revised, updated hippy version first appeared in the 70s with a more modern and sexy cut and brighter mixes of colors.In 1986, French actress Béatrice Dalle brought overalls to the next level by wearing a blue cotton, belted, and paint-splashed version in her very first film Betty Blue, turning them into a modern icon in doing so. The 90s and its hip-hop movement saw them become the symbol of cool and nonconformity, but when the 2000s rolled around, their neon pop colors and incorporation into slinky outfits brought them down a notch.

And yet they always come back, either on the runway or in the streets. In 2013, they’ll be available in leather and a fuchsia at 3.1 Phillip Lim, in denim with a hint of “bon chic bon genre” attitude at Margaret Howell, in a futuristic sportswear version at Ruffian, or entirely in snakeskin for the rock’n’roll Rebecca Minkoff. Collections Spring-Summer 2014 are in consonance with the movement, like Rag & Bone, which oversimplifies the overalls in a sleek minimalism. Balmain collection follows these traces but true to the spirit of the home, leather dresses with a twist sailor by six buttons sewn row. Both classic and impertinent, overalls are yet again a must-have this year, where they’re  getting decked out inaudacity, graphic lines, intricate details and luxurious embellishments.