Long panels of purplish silk, iron mesh mittens and metallic nails, the pop sensation Chappell Roan, with the flip of a Y/Project fall-yesterday 2024 dress, took the entire assembly back to the 13th century, on September 11. At the MTV Video Music Awards, the 26-year-old American gave a demonstration of medieval style in three acts, including a Rabanne chain mail, donned to receive his statuette on stage. In recent years, the Middle Ages infusedbecomes the ally of strong images. That of the Balenciaga haute couture fall-winter 2023-2024 chrome bride, of Zendaya in Versace armor at the Met Gala 2018, of Angèle in armor for Photo Magazine… To name just a few.
Pinterest confirms this historicist leaning. The network's predictions for 2025 are in this direction, fueled by searches from users aged 18 to 43, around the world, from September 2022 to August 2024. These demonstrate an increase in + 110% interest in the term “Medieval”+ 85% for “Blue medieval dress”, + 45% for “Chainmail necklace”. Specific pieces, which are added to others, forming what the platform calls “chateau-core”.
Metal and fashion liturgy
If we listen to the stirrings of trends, the knights and their paraphernalia have actually made a slow comeback in recent months. Spring saw the return of a headdress from the era to the forefront. Diversion of combat camela sort of chainmail hood worn by soldiers under armor until the 14th century, the accessory adorned Anya Taylor-Joy's hair at the Cannes Film Festival and swept across TikTok.
Neo-Gothic aesthetics and religious iconography are also on the rise. Just acquired, Kim Kardashian made a monumental Lady Di cross the centerpiece of her outfit at the Art + Film gala on November 2 in Los Angeles. In amethyst, the jewel also echoes Pinterest trends, which point to a +50% increase in searches for “antique ruby rings”. The collaboration between jewelers Mikimoto and Chrome Hearts, decorated with crosses and recently worn by Rihanna, joins this movement.
Depreciated for a long time, silver now coexists with gold, when it has not supplanted it in fashion trends. Partly responsible for this metallic waveyoung designers put the idea of armor at the center of their creation: Jeanne Friot, Ellen Hodakova and Dilara Findikoglu. These three fashion neo-metallurgists, driven by an attachment to upcycling which pushes them to divert objects like belt buckles, keys or silver trays, have another thing in common: Joan of Arc.
Jeanne d’Arc, it-girl
It's impossible not to see the signet ring splitting the Seine during the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympic Games, directed by Jeanne Friot, an avatar of the medieval heroine. Dilara Findikoglu told us:“I'm very fascinated by the idea of armor, because I really like to reference Joan of Arc in my works. This heroine fascinates me, and the fact that she did unconventional things attracts me. (…) It was a touching moment when Hari Nef wore my dress to the Barbie (2023) premiere in London. As an actress and transgender woman (…) she embodied this battle for our rights, to exist, the idea of feeling victorious and powerful. (…) The fact that Joan of Arc was executed because she wore men’s clothes is linked to that.”
It is that, in turn Catholic warrior, icon of feminist struggleslike that in favor of the right to vote in England in the 20th or queer emblem as a transvestite warrior, Joan of Arc is a plural figure, a feminine force that appeals to the era. A way of being a woman, powerful and glorious, an armor to put on to conquer the world, which is well worth a millennial flashback.
