At the beginning of the 19th century, post-revolutionary France swelled with newly impoverished artists, poets, philosophers, musicians and travelers. No longer sustained by the patronage of their former upper-class clientele, bands of free thinkers chose to embrace a lifestyle outside of traditional French society. They dressed in what has become known as boho clothing: embroidered smocks, flowing skirts or harem pants, and headscarves.
Fast forward to the 21st century and boho is back -- or more accurately, has never really left. Bohemian style made an appearance on the Burberry’s Fall ‘15 runway with head-to-toe fringe, patterned maxi dresses and tassel bags. Anna Sui, arguably the queen of modern boho, updates the look with a hint of grunge and urban style, fusing dark shades and vivid hues into intricately eye-catching prints.
The American bohemian
Those early European artists and wanders brought the concept of creative, minimalist living to America, where bohemian New Yorkers in Greenwich Village laid the foundation for the flappers to come. The next major cultural embrace of bohemian clothing is perhaps what we picture when we think of it today: the flower children of the Sixties. The photos, film, and garments preserved from the Woodstock Music & Arts Festival of 1969, are relics of the quintessential American Bohemian. That summer – The Summer of Love – young people came out of their suburban homes in droves to embrace an alternative way of living.
Following the concert, the bohemian look quickly spread across the country. It was welcome with open arms in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, where flowing floral dresses, prairie skirts, smocked shirts, tie-dye and embroidery were central to every flower child’s wardrobe and came to symbolize hippie culture. Like the best music of the era, these trends persisted into the Seventies, where it took the influence of Philadelphia’s underground disco culture to curb the flower children’s aesthetic.
New Bohemian design
All trends ebb and flow, and so the fashion system dictates that lots of designers should fix their eyes on the Bohemians from time to time. Some brands, however, were born and bred of boho style. For instance, the colorful Italian ease at the core of Missoni’s brand is strongly tied to bohemian sensibilities. Every color of the rainbow is present in the effortless, flowing shapes of Missoni knits. Maxi dresses and ponchos are staples for the Italian knitwear brand, which was first championed in America by the infamous bohemian curator, Diana Vreeland.
Gucci is having a major moment with this season’s floral dresses, but they are also an intrinsically bohemian Italian brand. Though a world away from the current bright and poppy silk chiffon, Gucci’s Fall 2008 campaign pictured an ultra-beautiful band of wandering gypsies. If overall more European in essence than the American hippie-bohemian, this collection featured lots of boho mainstays like fringe, metallic paillettes, low-slung belts of rope and metal, and slouching knee-high leather boots. Vilshenko offers a beautiful example of gypsy-leaning boho style in 2016.
Another of this season’s strongest examples of boho style comes from the French offshoot, See by Chloé. With beautiful organic prints defining the collection, it’s easy to see the romantic sense of ease and wonderment that defines the style. The dense, stylized floral prints make for luxurious smocked blouses, tunics, and long prairie skirts.
Touches of boho
Though each designer presents boho fashion through their own lens, some elements persist as mainstays. Patchwork floral embroidery, smocking, as well as tiered or flowing maxi dresses and skirts, are perennially emblematic of the post-revolutionary artistic nomads. Accessories like rope-length pendant necklaces, tribal jewelry, bangles and wide-brimmed felt hats are currently used to fuse boho with other styles.
Strong design elements associated with boho clothing, like fringe, can add a note of bohemia to an otherwise glam, prim, or edgy look. Hedi Slimane’s line of Saint Laurent bags is a prime example. The corresponding runway collections were praised for their LA rock n’ roll vibe, but subtly placed leather fringe on bags, jackets and sandals, added a touch of irreverence and helped to achieve a new, unique, and very bohemian style.
At the dawn of the 19th century, bohemian fashion was defined by eclectic, free-thinking, and artistic individuals on the verge of a new, counter-cultural life. Throughout the 20th century, fresh waves of counter cultures took on the style and adapted it to their tastes. In the 21st century, we see style icons like Erin Wasson, Rachel Zoe and Sienna Miller integrating boho fashion into their own personal style, bringing la bohème to the attention of the fashion forward.