The Art of Layering
The art of layering was no doubt perfected by an equestrian.
It takes sartorial planning to navigate dressing for a frosty morning hack or an afternoon of gridwork in light rain. You need to be able to seamless strip down as you warm up or throw on a form-fitting layer during your cool down.
With seasonal unpredictability, temperatures can move from balmy to chill with little warning, but with a few simple layering techniques, you can make the most of your entire wardrobe year round. Roxanne Parker, a freelance fashion stylist and art director, offered her top tips to achieve the perfect layered look: “Texture for me is key when layering. Mixing finer fabrics with heavier pieces like a silk or cotton blouse with a dramatic bowtie neck-line under a wool jumper, or a fine knit sleeveless tank top with a tweed or velvet riding-style coat on top looks fantastic. The layers of different texture add variety and complexity to a look.” The MIASUKI collection is designed with layering front of mind. The Flicka dungarees look effortless paired with a chunky Sassy merino knit or with a Nahar cashmere-blend sweater pulled over top.
As fashion becomes more complex - breathable materials, insulating fabrics, technical knits - these have all been cleverly designed to slip under or over another piece of kit. The result is every item in your wardrobe suddenly serves for any number of occasions and across all seasons. Equally, these equestrian-inspired layered looks don’t date. Forever timeless and elegant, as Parker notes, “I can go back to shoots I styled around the equestrian theme from 10 years ago, and they still look relevant.” That’s why a MIASUKI Horse Lover’s T-shirt worn under an Arabella collared shirt with a Pandora Everyday jacket overtop never fails to wow. The subtle mix of colours, textures and fabrics proves the perfect combination, while the hourglass silhouette it creates always flatters. “I also adore riding boots with a big riding-style skirt and a crisp white blouse. Similarly, putting on a dressage-style cummerbund belt with the skirt adds drama and narrows the silhouette. There is a timelessness to equestrian style,” explains Parker.
Layering works best when you keep to two or three colour palates. At MIASUKI the range is sophisticated and the colours are elegant and muted. Combinations like blue and camel compliment one another seamlessly or for the autumn burgundy looks radiates alongside green, navy pairs well with a mustard yellow and black always looks sophisticated when worn with tan. A pair of caramel-coloured Hero breeches worn with a black Faran technical cashmere sweater will never date. And you can always weave in a touch of colour with a scarf, gilet or even your helmet. A burst of colour is exactly what Parker got when recently styling an equestrian shoot in Ireland. “We started shooting at 6am, when the master of the Meath hunt was meeting with all the riders and hounds in front of a Georgian-designed country home. It was magnificent to have that moment with all the red-coated riders about to set off on a hunt in my fashion story. My great grandfather had been master of the Meath hunt, so when I was styling this shoot it very much felt like this style was hard-wired into my DNA.”
Bridget Arsenault
