It was back in 1964 that Dick Van Dyke, as Bert the chimney sweep in Disney’s original film adaptation of P.L. Travers’ Mary Poppins, sang “wind's in the east, mist coming in; like something is brewing, about to begin,” observing all too appropriately that same feeling one gets when a new trend begins to emerge. This season, in a coincidence that’s practically perfect in every way, it’s Mary Poppins herself.
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The character is back on our screens in December, in an updated version of the classic musical fantasy: Mary Poppins Returns stars Emily Blunt as the much-loved magical nanny, with Emily Mortimer and Ben Whishaw as a grown-up Jane and Michael Banks. And Poppins’ signature Edwardian style seems to have resonated with designers, too – high collars, puffed sleeves, and lean, buttoned-up suits, as well as a riff on the merry widow hats of the time, have all appeared in the autumn/winter 2018 and spring/summer 2019 catwalk collections.
At Erdem and Simone Rocha, those hat brims were dressed and decorated in elaborate beekeeper styles, while at Moschino and Alexandre Vauthier they had an added '80s appeal, almost a little caricaturesque – which, bold and fanciful with frills and bright colour, was the case with the overall Poppins looks at Marc Jacobs. Meanwhile, swathes of skirt were in motion at Olivier Theyskens; suit ensembles took to the runways of Chanel, Givenchy and Dior; ruffles were seen at Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini; and John Galliano’s show was simply an ode to the Edwardian wardrobe, inspired as it was by the 1900s-set novel Picnic at Hanging Rock.
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“High necklines; long, narrow skirts; structured, tailored, emphasised shoulders; covered-up bodies, but not dreary or dowdy, plain or safe; hats and shoulders framing a purposeful gaze…” is how costume designer Liz Krause, who has previously assisted on the TV period drama Poldark, as well as films The Great Wall, Thor and the upcoming JoJo Rabbit, describes the look. “Of course, with Andrews’ costumes, there’s a healthy dose of late '50s to early '60s Hollywood in there and Poppins’ accessories were transformed with a sprinkling of Disney dust to become colourful, graphically simple and just a little bit cute,” she adds.
It’s not the first time the character has found herself with fashion pin-up status. Cast your mind back (again) to Marc Jacobs’ hit spring/summer 2009 collection: the designer combined the grunge plaid of his Perry Ellis days with the era’s S-bend silhouette, complete with sashes and jaunty boaters for a cool new update.
This time round, the homage is more literal, which makes sense in the year that celebrates 100 years since the suffragette movement. (A side narrative in the original film is that Winifred, the Banks children’s mother, is herself a suffragette – echoed in the style of clothes she and Poppins wear.)
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And similarly, it makes sense in a year that sees the revival of two major heritage houses, Poiret and Jean Patou, both of which championed comfortable but elegant dressing and, importantly, no corsets, and both of which experienced an interwar heyday (Mary Poppins Returns is set in the '30s), revolutionising the way women dressed.
Which is perhaps why Mary Poppins has indeed returned. Following fashion’s most recent mini streetwear and sportswear revolution, something with structure and a sense of occasion, with heritage and a spot of magic, seems right for now. And all reasoning aside, Mary Poppins famously never explains herself – surely the same sentiment stands when it comes to the renewed appeal of her wardrobe.
