Gauge81 Makes Maximum Impact With Its Minimalist New-Season Dresses

With going ‘out out’ on our minds right now – and the late ’90s to early 2000s, heavily influencing our style choices – it comes as no surprise that Gauge81 has risen to fashion the fore. Specializing in barely-there dresses and sensual tailoring, Monika Silva Michelsen launched the nostalgia-inflected label (pronounced Go-sh 81) in Amsterdam in 2019. The name references an industry term that is used to describe the weight of yarn and is a nod to Michelsen’s years in the knitwear industry in her native Colombia.

Three years on, Gauge81 has established itself as a brand that simultaneously appeals to minimalists and maximalists alike with its clean-lined silhouettes and kaleidoscopic color palette. Hailing from Colombia, Michelsen moved to New York, where she worked in advertising, before returning to South America to cut her teeth in knitwear, and eventually settled in Amsterdam.

Her knitwear know-how brings a sense of relaxed glamour to her aesthetic, while her peripatetic background lends a global sensibility to the collections. With effortless elegance at its core, the brand’s hallmarks include sensual cutouts, directional necklines, sharp asymmetry, and the kind of daring draping that has become a much sought-after style in recent seasons for those seeking cutting-edge eveningwear. Michelsen’s muses vary from Lauren Bacall to Kate Moss, while her clientele includes Selena Gomez and Dakota Johnson.

If you’re looking for clothes to go out and have fun in, Gauge81 is a go-to. The collection notes reveal that Michelsen was “driven by a playful color palette” and this season’s destined-for-the-dance-floor mini dresses come in neon yellow and electric blue, as well as classic white. Tapping into silhouettes of the late ’90s and early 2000s, she ensures these are going-out clothes for grownups – the signature cutouts and dipped necklines are tempered by long sleeves and relaxed draping. When it comes to styling these striking dresses, keep ’90s minimalism in mind and pair them with shoulder bags, mules and chunky gold jewelry for an effortless but impactful look.