In love with the glove: the TikTok generation falls for a classic look | Fashion

The gen-Z demographic who use TikTok may be too young to remember a time before smartphones, but one of the most popular fashion trends on the app harks back to a bygone era. Opera gloves – as worn by screen stars such as Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn and Rita Hayworth – are taking off. Videos with the hashtag have had 275,000 views on TikTok. According to a study carried out by Clothes2Order, that represents a Google search increase of 84% in the second half of 2021.

Marilyn Monroe in a publicity shot for Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, 1953. Photograph: Alamy

The surging interest in a clothing item that would once have been worn to an elite cultural event, the opera, has been repurposed over the years and is now being sported by popular musicians and actors. Adele, Olivia Rodrigo and Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion have worn them in videos, while Julia Fox and Euphoria’s Sydney Sweeney have worn them to events. The red carpet at the Fashion Awards in December saw attenders get behind the trend – Demi Moore, Alexa Chung and Kristen McMenamy wore opera gloves. Beyoncé, meanwhile, has made them something of a signature. At the Grammys last year, she sported leather opera gloves with matching dress.

Opera gloves are on the catwalk too – at brands ranging from Valentino to Marc Jacobs, Fendi and Richard Quinn. More accessible labels, often aimed at a younger demographic, are also selling them. Heaven by Marc Jacobs, typically a collection inspired by 1990s club kids,…

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