Hooked: How Crochet Became Fashion's Hottest Trend | Fashion

VSThe ratchet is usually associated with multi-colored granny blankets thrown over the back of a couch. But recently, homemade crafts have become the hottest fashion trend. From high-end stores to department stores, the craft craze is everywhere, from women's clothing to men's.

Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, Travis Kelce, were photographed Earlier this week, they left a London restaurant with their crocheted his-and-hers outfits. At Glastonbury, baseball caps and cut-off jeans were replaced by bucket hats and crocheted skirts.

Reality TV stars, including Love Island fans, favour crochet bikinis, while their male counterparts wear crocheted polo shirts unbuttoned to show off their abs. When the show’s host, Maya Jama, kicked off this year’s unofficial symbol of the start of summer, she did so in a white crocheted minidress. The trend is the fashion equivalent of yarn bombing, a street art practice that involves covering public objects in textiles.

Meanwhile, the men's section of online retailer Asos offers more than 200 crochet items, including vests and shorts, and the women's division has more than 1,000, with a red and white crop top, the one of his best-selling pieces.

At John Lewis, a 49 geometric short-sleeved shirt has sold out. Reflecting a wider interest in vintage boho, online second-hand clothing platforms are also cashing in. Depop has seen a 32% increase in searches for crochet since January.

Zak Maoui, style director of Gentlemens Journal, says crochet has shed its '70s hippie connotations. He cites the cream Kelces ensemble as an example of neat, subtle crochet. It's a way to exploit a sexier style of dressing without showing off too much, he says.

Sierra Ndagire, the founder of Crolagewho handcrafts stretchy crochet dresses and matching separates in London, says: Crochet can be very individualistic, allowing people to express themselves more through their clothes. Even if it’s popular, chances are you’re not wearing the same thing as everyone else.

However, not all items advertised as crochet are actually crochet. Designer Ruth Herring, who creates crochet prototypes for luxury designers such as JW Anderson and SS Daley, says inexpensive crochet items are often knitted in lace or created using an embroidery technique on a machine, while authentic crochet is done by hand with a single hook and a single thread.

If a hand-crocheted item is sold at a low price, it could also mean that the brand's employees were not paid a fair wage. Herring, who describes herself as a very experienced and fast-paced woman [crochet knitter]said it would take him two days to make a simple vest. Hand crochet would be expensive. It is not mass produced.

Major retailers sell styles starting at just €20. Cheaper pieces are often made from acrylic wool, a synthetic fibre made from petroleum-based polymers. The fabric is not breathable, and many crochet-clad Glasto fans are likely to sweat and itch in the heat.

Swift's dress is from Australian brand VRG GRL and retails for $99. On social media, some users criticized the singer, whose net worth is estimated at $1.1 billion, for promoting cheap handmade crochet. However, the dress has also given a boost to the homemade knitting market, with Swifties creating a DIY pattern. Fifteen hours after spotting the dress on Swift, Krista McCloud, a craft designer, had released a free pattern on his websiteIt has since been downloaded thousands of times.

Pattern creation and testing typically takes several weeks, but everyone was ready with yarn and hooks in hand as soon as they saw the image first posted online, McCloud says. She estimates it will take her 12 to 16 hours to complete the dress she hopes to wear this weekend.

Depops trends spokesperson Agus Panzoni says crochet is part of a broader consumer trend of people craving tactility and comfort. The handmade look resonates with people looking for unique, artisanal pieces that offer a sense of individuality and craftsmanship. It evokes a sense of IRL and personal connection, making it [crocheted pieces] Clothing is highly sought after in today's fast fashion and mass production landscape. It’s ironic that fast fashion brands are capitalizing on this trend.

It's frustrating because fast-fashion crochet is usually a poor copy of a crochet designer's work, says Ndagire. It doesn't fit or look at all. They don't care about the craftsmanship, skill and beauty of the time it takes to create and handcraft something unique.

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Get the look: head-to-toe crochet

Coordinate, 200, Crolage

Bucket hat, 105, MFG History

Tabard, 475, SS Daley

Espadrilles, 400, Rio Farm

Hair Scrunchie, $10.50, Moosey Crochet via Etsy

Shirt, 160, Portuguese Flannel

Vest, 268, Free people