Why A Jumpsuit Beats A Cocktail Dress Right Now

It is not often that North Korea's state-run websites can claim to be ahead of the fashion curve, but in 2010, well - they called it. Uriminzokkiri hailed the hermit kingdom's great general Kim Jong-il, "who is always wearing the modest suit while working", as therefore leaving "a deep impression on people's minds in the world". Presumably even it had no idea just how popular Kim Jong-il's signature style would become.

Seven years later, the jumpsuit has supplanted the cocktail dress as the summer occasion outfit of choice. Witness Scarlett Johansson, who's rarely out of a jumpsuit at the moment as she hits the publicity tour for Ghost In The Shell.

And speaking of Scarlett Johansson, she shared her views on marriage and relationships, admitting that she doesn't "think it’s natural to be a monogamous person".

"I think the idea of marriage is very romantic; it’s a beautiful idea, and the practice of it can be a very beautiful thing. I don’t think it’s natural to be a monogamous person," she told the most recent issue of Playboy, reports US Weekly. "I might be skewered for that, but I think it’s work. It’s a lot of work. And the fact that it is such work for so many people - for everyone - the fact of that proves that it is not a natural thing. It's something I have a lot of respect for and have participated in, but I think it definitely goes against some instinct to look beyond."

The Oscar-winning actress recently parted ways from her husband Romain Dauriac, who is father to her two-year-old daughter Rose, although she kept the split away from the prying eyes of the tabloid press. In the interview, she shed light on how she found being married different from being betrothed.

"Being married is different than not being married, and anybody who tells you that it's the same is lying. It changes things,” she said. “I have friends who were together for 10 years and then decided to get married, and I'll ask them on their wedding day or right after if it's different, and it always is. It is.”

Or look to Kerry Washington, pretty and poised in a rust-coloured Roksanda all-in-one at Paleyfest this year, and Anne Hathaway, sleek in Vivienne Westwood at the April premiere of Colossal.

Cast your mind back to Solange Knowles, who got married in a cream Stéphane Rolland romper in 2014; to Gwen Stefani, who seems to live in Ghostbuster flight suit versions; to Rihanna, who loves Frame denim overalls for day, and Balmain cut-out styles for night; to Kendall Jenner, for whom a jumpsuit trumps a razzle dazzle dress every time it's time to tread the red carpet (ergo, every day).

The dress code tsars at Royal Ascot have clearly been watching. As part of this year's Style Guide, Ascot "officially welcomes the jumpsuit as an acceptable item of clothing for the Royal Enclosure".

Phoebe Philo, perhaps the woman who drives trends in British fashion more assiduously than any other designer, was an early champion. Hot on our Dear Leader's heels, her tuxedo and slouchy, strapless jumpsuit combo raised admiring eyebrows at the British Fashion Awards in 2010 (everyone else was in full-skirted mini dresses). As ever, Philo effected trickle-down. Jumpsuits as eveningwear suddenly seemed like the louche option, showing up that other eveningwear failsafe - the dress - as a fussy anachronism that looked hopelessly unimaginative.

As summer wedding season looms, prepare for jumpsuit apotheosis. We guarantee it will be nigh on impossible to attend nuptials without spotting a finely turned out attendee in a figure-fitting Galvan jumpsuit. Or a cropped, balloon-sleeved Roksanda number. Ditto Missoni's fabulously decadent styles. This summer, jumpsuits come cropped, sheer, rendered in lace or chiffon; or boyish, slouchy and insouciant. Obviously, they lend their laissez-faire insouciance to all manner of dress codes.