Maxi skirt

A bias cut gives this velvet skirt its fall: full length, softly gathered at the hem, hung from a neat elasticated waistband. The pile is fluid rather than dense, so the fabric moves in one piece instead of breaking into folds. Róhe at its plainest, and the better for it.

Blumarine builds this floor-length skirt from five tiers of fine plissé, each seam edged with a small gathered ruffle. A smooth, fitted yoke holds the hip before the pleats open out, and the last tier falls into a deep, layered flounce that moves with every step.

Cut in black, it keeps its drama in the texture.

Alaïa's tailoring follows the line of the body, and this skirt holds to it from waist to ankle. Cut from light wool in black, it runs in long panel seams below a smooth yoke, with two deep pockets set proud at the hip. Those pockets give the column its only width.