Ed Hardy, Take 2? Tattoo Illusion Sleeves Are Back
Tattoo sleeves at Dries van Noten Spring 2016. Photo: Getty Images
Love the look of excessive tattoos but don’t have the pain tolerance or ability to forecast whether you’ll still like having permanent ink on your arms in 50 years’ time? You’re in luck: Clothing with tattoo-like details are on their way back into fashion.
But don’t go pulling out your old Ed Hardy tee just yet. This time around, the tattoos are generally less flash, more abstract.
This Spring 2016 fashion month, there were at least two innovative labels that put tattoo-inspired sleeves (and leggings) down the runway. At Dries van Noten, several models wore sheer gloves and body suits covered in monotone stroke and serpentine prints—an artistic nod to alternative, tattooed ladies.
A tattoo bodysleeve at DSquared2 Spring 2016. Photo: Getty Images
In Milan, DSquared2′s interpretation was more literal: Models wore body-con tops and full bodystockings—covered in a dense, full-color tattoo print—as a bottom layer beneath their clothes. The label showed a very similar look at its Fall 2015 menswear show, though the male models didn’t wear anything else over their “tattooed” bodies.
Cate Blanchett wears Yacine Aouadi in New York City. Photo: Getty Images
Bringing the mini-trend to the red carpet was sartorial risk-taker Cate Blanchett, who donned a couture dress by Yacine Aouadi to the October 9th premier of her new film Carol at the New York Film Festival. The shimmering black frock with plunging neckline featured unexpected trompe-l’oeil tattoo designs, which were printed on mesh illusion sleeves and across Blanchett’s collar bone. From a distance, it actually looked like the Oscar-winning actress had made a trip to the tattoo parlor.
Cara Delevingne wears Stella McCartney at the Met Gala. Photo: Getty Images
Back in May, Cara Delevingne took a different approach to wearing faux-tattoos at the 2015 Met Gala. The model/actress, who actually has a slew of permanent ink in real life, accessorized her Stella McCartney jumpsuit with a bunch of beautiful, temporary China-themed tattoos drawn on her body by her go-to ink artist, Keith “Bang Bang” McCurdy.
With endorsements like these, we wouldn’t be surprised if tattoo illusion sleeves and clothing wind up back on the high street shelves in the next few months. Perhaps Ed Hardy enthusiast John Gosselin was onto something all those years, after all…
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