Fashion: Why the 1920s are still roaring

FASHION is fascinated with the past.

Every season, designers rehash the decades, with varying success. Eighties power dressing has consistently hit the hard shoulder; while nineties grunge and seventies bohemia summon the intense, but brief, interest of a pre-pubescent crush. Commitment issues have been rife — until now.

Since 2009, the runways have flirted with a signature of drop-waist dresses, Mary Jane shoes, art deco motifs, feather headbands and garçonne hair, sometimes in isolation, but increasingly together, leading to a full-blown love affair with all things flapper. The roaring twenties, despite being 90 years old, seem trend-proof. Not bad for an old dowager. So, what is the fascination with ‘all that jazz’?