Once a staple of formal menswear, the tie is making a comeback as an edgy accessory
The tie, that one-time symbol of manhood and social supremacy, is in trouble. Step into a trendy Paris restaurant or classy dinner party, and is any man in tune with the times turned out in neckwear, aside from the occasional diehard tie aficionado? Yet, according to Paris couture circles and watchers of emerging trends among the young, the tie may be poised for a comeback. "The tie is dong better. It was ill, on the brink of death, it is convalescing," said Frank Nauerz, purchaser of men's accessories for France's Printemps department stores. "It isn't dead but there was a real drop in sales, it was sick," agreed Helene Pasteur, the buyer for men's goods at Galeries Lafayette stores.
Neckties in their current form surfaced in the mid-19th century, influenced by the elaborate cravats and scarves of "Beau" Brummell, the English dandy. Strips of cloth tied around the neck to soak up sweat, protect infantry from the chafing of armour or clothing that was rarely washed, can be traced back to ancient Chinese warriors in 300 BC, to Rome, and more recently to the picturesque scarves knotted around the necks of the 17th century Croatian mercenaries. Historians say French mispronunciation of the word "Croat", or "Hrvat" in the original produced the sartorial word "cravate" or cravat. Others say the mannish qualities of the tie derive not only from its military origins, like most men's fashion, but from its protection of man's perhaps least attractive attribute, the Adam's apple.
The tie was a must for the appropriately named white-collar workers through the 20th century, as well as for special occasions such as marriages and deaths. But its fortunes floundered significantly after the introduction of casual Fridays and dressed-down office wear in the 1990s. "Because of the new casual dress work ethic, nowadays men who buy suits and shirts no longer necessarily buy a tie to match," said Pasteur, the buyer at Galeries Lafayette. "I don't think the tie will return as routine office wear," opined Nauerz of the Printemps stores. "But it is making a comeback as a fashion accessory." In the last three seasons, top fashion gurus such as Hedi Slimane, who just left Dior, dazzled the catwalks with an array of skinny and often loosely knotted ties. These were inspired by rock stars such as Franz Ferdinand, a throwback to the Mods of the 1960s and 1970s when even the Beatles did their thing in ties. Often plain-colored, the new-look ties are 4 or 6cm wide, as opposed to the traditional 9cm.
"Young people are buying these ties now, and designers are offering new colors, new fabrics, new collections. They're making ties un-stodgy," said Nauerz, referring to Dolce and Gabbana, Armani, Dior, Calvin Klein and Paul Smith. You can tell the fashion houses are not going to drop the tie." Historian Farid Chenoune, author of a book on men's fashion through the ages, sees renewed designer interest in the tie as part of the struggle between the ethics of suburban rap, hip hop, and inner-city life. "There's currently a reassertion of central city elegance, based on the jacket, shirt and tie," he said in an interview. "There's a kind of struggle going on between suburban fashion and inner-city fashion which has a slight political undeertone. The return of the tie via yong rock groups is part of inner-city fashion, inner-city youth." Chenoune said the comeback of the tie followed the return of the jacket and shirt five or six years ago among the under-35 group.
Like today's loosely knotted, unkempt and worn ties, shirts since 2000 are cool if worn unbuttoned, loose or straying from under a sweater or out of a pair of trousers. "It's a statement by a generation, and the tie is part of it," said Chenoune. But in one of Paris' top luxury goods stores, the vagaries of mass market buying have gone unnoticed. At Charvet, the temple of the tie with an eye-boggling selection of 8,000 on sale and a bespoke service of collars, shirts and suits to match, manager Anne-Marie Colban said of the fall in tie sales: "We have heard of it, but have never seen it."
Labels: croat, hrvat, manhood, neckties, social supremacy, tongue tied
