Chain Reaction

With the world in a turmoil of liberation movements, what woman would want to be in chains? A lot of women, that's who, and so chains are among the hottest fashion accessories of the year. In part, ropes and links of gold simply highlight the return of the waist. For some women, too, there seems to be satisfaction in once again playing the slave girl; for others, the fun is in sounding like a percussion section of the band. And never overlook the part played by envy: there had to be some way of one-upping all those dandy men with big medallions around their necks.

In fact, chains have been unobtrusively hanging around for years. Chanel, for instance, has long fashioned rope necklaces out of tiny links, which she also uses stitched to the inside hem of suit jackets to add weight. Today's big chain reaction began in 1966, when Yves St. Laurent designed a belt made out of bold brass circles that quickly became a boutique bestseller. Now St. Laurent's latest belts are twice as wide, and there is hardly a jewelry designer who is not now clanking out chains.

Nuggets & Emeralds. Kenneth Lane, Manhattan's top man for expensive costume jewelry, likes to drape fake-moonstone-studded chains around waists and necks, even rings ankles with rhinestones sewed onto stockings. Lane believes that his belts ($75 to $300) are just the thing to dress up the popular harem fashion, the formless caftan.

"Clothes these days demand something bigger than a blob," says society's favorite jewelry designer, David Webb. So he turns out 18-carat-gold chain belts, with pieces molded to resemble nuggets, worked into scrolls or encrusted with real emeralds, and made to double as necklaces. To draw attention to the newly bared midriffs, Costume Jeweler Leo Kepler has designed a lacy, see-through belt consisting of four widely spaced strands of gold. "If you want to be nice, you wear it at the waist," advises Kepler. "If you want to be naughty, you rest it on your hips."

Gold-Plated Bikini. Chains are even becoming complete garments, themselves. For French Singer Franchise Hardy, Paris' Paco Rabanne recently created a suit of aluminum chain mail that weighs 34 Ibs. Says Francoise: "It forces me to exteriorize my sentiments, using only my voice, my eyes and my face." Translation: she can't move. Less weighty are the glittering chain tunics and boleros of Loris Azzaro, at 35 the fastest rising designer in Paris. True, the chain micro-dress he turned out for Brigitte Bardot's New Year TV special weighed eight pounds, but that did not prevent BB from wearing it several times since for dancing at New Jimmy's.

Even bolder is Giorgio di Sant' Angelo's gold-plated chain bikini, which depends for modesty on two layers of chains; hopefully, even if the outer layer parts, the under layer of smaller baby chains will provide a veil. Rustproof, the suit can be worn swimming. "Chain on the nude body can be very decent," insists Sant' Angelo, who gives the hippies credit for putting the chain back into fashion. Says the Manhattan designer with approbation: "They took the symbol of bondage and transformed it into a symbol of emancipation."

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