Anna Byrne reveals how fashion is set to hitch a ride on Maleficent’s broomstick in Weekend column Fashion, Doll

FASHIONISTAS should be prepared for witches to wing their way from fiction to fashion this season thanks to Maleficent. But is the trend worth investing in?

Angelina Jolie in the title role of Maleficent

Not that I have anything against princesses, but my inner pagan has always been partial to the witch. Sure their evil plans aren’t always airtight but without the witch, most fairy tales would be a romantic comedy in which the female protagonist doesn’t get to have her big nap.

Sleepless in the Castle if you will.

The coven of charmed sisters of Disney films were commanding of respect; they were the mysterious enigmas; the ones with formidable powers and potions. And although they were lacking in pretty pink dresses of princessy credentials, they still had plenty of sass and style.

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Rachel Weisz plays Evanora in Oz: The Great and Powerful

Just look the fairest of them all: Snow White’s stepmother. That regal collar and signature red lip combination is still as luxurious today as it was in 1937.

Obviously my instincts were on the (box office) money because Disney has also embraced the wicked enchantress of late.

Last year’s Oz: The Great and Powerful treated audiences to a new spectacle if temptresses with Evanora, played by Rachel Weisz, swathed in emerald green satin — the perfect dress for convincing Mila Kunis, draped in port wine velvet — to embrace the dark side.

Far from the weedy haired hags and wart covered crones of folklore, modern movie fairy tales have come to romanticise the witch and make her fashion sense seem more magical than ever.

Mila Kunis in Oz: The Great and Powerful

This week Disney has continued to shatter the glass ceiling of pagan prejudice by making Maleficent, with her leather bound horn headdress, the titular character of their new remake of Sleeping Beauty. And they have cast one of Hollywood’s most striking starlets, Angelina Jolie, as the teenage princess’ evil nemesis to (pointy toe) boot.

As a result, fashionistas should be prepared for witches to wing their way from fiction to fashion this season; because if I have learnt one thing in this industry, it is that fashion has an uncanny ability to jump on any bandwagon _ or broomstick in this instance.

Angelina Jolie in Maleficent

Choosing not to break the habit of a lifetime, high street stores have added capes, layered hemlines, leather coats, tactile velvet and inky black robes to their bubbling cauldrons. Emerging designers are also celebrating the witch as their muse, taking inspiration from last season’s Gucci collection where chalk-faced models with blackcurrant pouts sashayed down the runways and YSL where models donned broadbrimmed black hats.

So is the trend worth investing in? No, it probably won’t last the time it takes for Maleficent to be released on DVD. But not every girl wants to dress up like a princess. Some prefer a little more drama in their wardrobes.

Angelina Jolie stars in Disney's Maleficent as the wicked witch Maleficent.