Supermodels Bella and Gigi Hadid ski in hoods while singer Aya Nakamura proudly wears this accessory on the cover of her new album. A key piece of the 1980s, the balaclava is making a strong comeback on the catwalks or in stores.
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A trend that is also confirmed in French-speaking Switzerland. “We have seen strong demand all year long,” explains Bryan Wana, manager of the Geneva Maniak store. “It is especially popular with young people, who like to wear it under a cap for example”.
The balaclava originated in the late 1800s in Crimea. Used by English soldiers to protect themselves from the polar cold during combat, it avoided the risk of gangrene by protecting the ears and head.
Over the years, she left the ranks of the army to gradually settle in ski resorts around the world. It is then displayed by thugs during demonstrations, which gives it a certain negative connotation.
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Today brands like Jacquemus or Max Mara are reclaiming the accessory to offer it in a multitude of materials, colors and shapes. A trend propelled by the appearance of masks during the Covid, which has changed our relationship to the face, to identity and to anonymity. “We also realized that it was a part of the face that was little used by designers,” adds Majd Zarour, a student at the School of Art and Design in Geneva.
The balaclava has become a new playground for designers and a new accessory for consumers now used to masking themselves. “I think there is also a desire to preserve oneself as a person, in a society where one is constantly overexposed on social networks and where video surveillance systems are everywhere. And of course, there is always this desire to touch what is subversive in creators”, concludes Sokhna Cissé, stylist at Femina Magazine.
Clemence Vonlanthen/saje