Prada, Dolce & Marc Agree: Brooches Are In

When’s the last time you thought about wearing a brooch? If you’re under the age of 50, the answer might be never. But fashion’s making a play to bring the old-fashioned accessory back into the spotlight—or at least onto your lapel. Like so many trends, this one started at Celine. Phoebe Philo accessorized her SS 15 collection with hands made of porcelain that held coat collars closed. Then, Alexander Wang upped the ladylike factor at Balenciaga with pave ‘B’ pins on his coat collars for his resort show. And now, 75% of the way through the FW 2015 collections, a dozen designers have hopped on the bandwagon.

In New York, a handful of models at Marc by Marc Jacobs wore printed, beaded, and tassled pins on their coats and jackets. One of the labels’ two designers, Luella Bartley, told Style.com the collection was full of, “hard-core idealism,” and indeed the pins did feel political.

Brooches took a turn for the fancy in Milan. Katie Grand, who’s styled Prada for years, attached jewel-encrusted floral pins to jackets, shifts, dresses, and more. The Financial Times wrote, “fashioned in diamante and Perspex [the brooches] glinted on coat lapels and down bodices—another high low mix of materials that had tickled Ms. Prada’s penchant for playful juxtapositions.”

Meanwhile, at Dolce & Gabbana, baroque brooches—floral silhouettes, pearls, plenty of gold—were woven into the hair and used at the nape of the neck. MSGM attached geometric pins in primary colors to fur coats and sweater vests, while Les Copains showed over-the-top gems in the shape of dragonflies and Fausto Puglisi looked to nature for branch-like pins on candy-colored coats. Our suggestion? Don’t wait for Paris to start searching for pins on eBay and Etsy. Snap up the vintage pieces now, before the fashion pack gets back from Europe and buys them all!