The High School Student News Site of The American School in London

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The High School Student News Site of The American School in London

The Standard

Prom 2016: Style

Prom+2016%3A+Style

As a junior, prom was beautifully new and exciting, and surely a night to look back on with a wide smile. The memory is accentuated by the flood of dreamy dresses and tailored tuxes I saw, everyone looked truly luminous, and these trends just made the evening that bit more spirited.

I am probably not alone when I say that the anticipation that comes with seeing your friends’ prom fashion choices for the first time is unexpectedly exhilarating. I live for spotting trends and if you know me, you’ll know that I am the girl who has her friends’ wardrobes memorized, and can spot whether Max Bueno’s (’17) printed t-shirt is Christopher Kane or Raf Simons on any given day. Prom is an exciting time for juniors and seniors. Personally, I was over-the-top in my readiness for the night. I don’t doubt that many others felt the same way. From frantically shoe or corsage shopping on the morning of prom to practicing their makeup or gelled hair two weeks prior, it was evident that time and thought were put into every aspect of the coveted evening.  

People definitely dressed to impress. I wonder how many hours of online shopping went into the selection of some of the styles I noticed, or how many trips to Oxford Street it took to find the perfect accessories? Nonetheless, it all came together in the end. All of the gowns and accessories I spotted at Prom this year were something to remember. There were definitely trends that I managed to seek out. It seems that this year people gravitated towards striking features, color, shape or otherwise. Historically, an ASL prom dress will most likely come in a dark and demure shade from deep blue to black, but this year it was a breath of fresh air to see incredible reds and pinks in the crowd.

From Olivia Chung (’17), who wore a striking cherry red ball gown to Taegen Kopfler (’17), who was in a contemporary purple ombre ensemble, color popped up throughout the pampered and chatty crowd everywhere I looked. People can most certainly find color intimidating as a style choice, but it takes someone like Eliot Konzal (’17), in her epic hot pink skirt, to show everyone how it’s done.

This trend did not fall short for the men in tuxes, which is quite a feat. Edward Black’s (’16) burgundy blazer made a striking impression and worked seamlessly with the metropolitan essence of the ASL event. This color also found its way into the fresh boutonnieres dressing each tux. Magnus Allan’s (’17) pink rose worked beautifully with the setting and with his date, Claire Noel’s (’17), matching corsage.

It seems apparent that people have grown weary of the simple black dress/bow tie, and it most certainly paid off. It was also amazing to see those classic dark colors transformed with detailed intricacies and designs previously unseen. These are some of the prom-goers who donned dark gowns with interesting variations: We had Virginia Galbraith (’16) in her jersey-like Gemeli Power gown, which showed off the diversity of fabrics featured at prom, Livy Scott (’17) in her metal accented Mugler creation, and Roxy Sammons (’17) in her black satin dress weaved with iridescent sparkle. From flirty to fitted, it was as if every deviation under the sun for such a timeless style made its way into our prom. Furthermore, trailblazing on the men’s side of the story came Rami Kablawi (’16) in his bright, Lichtenstein inspired, bow tie. While winding through the perpetual line of the photo booth there was Alessandro Baravalle (’17) styling an art-deco floral tie, which not only completed his look, but elevated him from the crowd.

Lastly, the most prominent trend of the evening was the geometric shapes. It is clear that in this age of technology, fashion is slowly becoming more edited and precise in its practice, as seen with this year’s Metropolitan Ball theme, which was, indeed, fashion in an age of technology. This year, amongst the ASL community, this feature seemed very desirable. Pocket squares highlighted this trend, as numerous people added that extra edge to give their outfit more character.

For the ladies, this trend manifested itself as Tania Veltchev (’17) arrived in a dynamic jumpsuit featuring a unique criss-cross neckline. We also had Momo Steele (’16) stun in a diamond shaped open-back Elizabeth and James pencil gown and Mary Sarfas (’17) in her perfectly placed triangular cut-outs brought this vogue to life.

It is most certainly appropriate to say that Prom 2016 was not void of interesting lines and contours. This year people seemed to drift towards simple, yet striking gowns and jumpsuits, which gave the evening an entirely new level of nuanced sophistication.

 

Photo by Phil Ammon

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