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Not many men could get away with wearing
the ensemble David Beckham chose for his 30th birthday
party in Madrid this week. His black silk shirt was unbuttoned
almost to the stomach, revealing a diamond pendant necklace,
while his diamond-encrusted, £15,000 wristwatch
(a birthday present from his wife, Victoria) peeped out
from a deep cuff. His tuxedo trousers were paired with
what looked suspiciously like flamenco shoes with block
heels.
But all of that was overshadowed by the
most jaw-dropping part of Beckham’s outfit: his satin
cummerbund. The sarong was bad enough, but had he gone
too far this time?
A sash worn around the waist, traditionally
with a dinner suit, a cummerbund doesn’t have a specific
function, but helps to elongate the legs, making the wearer
look taller and sleeker. For years, it has seemed about
as modern as Noel Coward.
Yet, just recently, it has enjoyed a
renaissance on the menswear catwalks. It has long been
a part of the decadent Gucci menswear look (and is frequently
worn by Gucci’s former creative director, Tom Ford). This
season’s show featured models wearing cummerbunds with
frill-front silk shirts and gold lam‚ jackets.
John Galliano also included cummerbunds
in his spring menswear collection, alongside extravagant,
tasselled silk sash belts.
“There is a real sense of dressing up
and dandyism that we haven’t seen since the 1980s, and
if anyone can pull it off, David Beckham can," says
Richard Gray, of Harvey Nichols.
In fashion circles, where menswear trends
bear very little relation to what most of the population
would consider normal, Beckham’s look is applauded. “People
like David Beckham are known for breaking the rules in
fashion,” says Gray. “The cummerbund is associated with
dressing up for formal occasions but he has brought it
up to date and made it sexy by wearing it with an open-necked
shirt. It’s not for everybody, but for people like him,
it’s expected.”
Others are less convinced.
“It was OK for James Bond to wear a cummerbund
in 1970; they were part of a particular style at the time,
but I think these days they look old-fashioned. There’s
nothing modern or elegant about the cummerbund now,” says
Carlo Brandelli, creative director of Savile Row tailors
Kilgour, who counts stylish dressers such as Jude Law
among his clients.
On close inspection, Beckham’s birthday
suit appears more like the kind of stage outfit an ageing
Lothario would squeeze himself into, rather than a party
outfit for a man at the end of his twenties.
Of course, with his well-toned body,
bronzed good looks and celebrity status, Beckham at least
has a fighting chance of looking good in clothes that
would make most men his age look utterly ridiculous. And
compared to some of the footballer’s previous fashion
“statements” — kaftans, pink nail polish and an ill-advised
fling with hip-hop style — this latest look is tame.
But there are signs that the public has
grown tired of his eccentric tastes. The fashion-obsessed
star was recently voted worst dressed man by readers of
GQ magazine. Beckham, who had been at the top of the best
dressed list for two years running, was criticised for
his nouveau riche style and “chav” tendencies.
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