When the New York Fashion Week began, I had very high hopes of creating a complete trend rundown of the runway shows. However, after making the first one it was clear the velocity of the incoming data was too much for only one person to bear. My feeds, and mails were positively flooded with information regarding each and every one of the runway shows minutes after they happened halfway round the world.
It was impossible to cover them all and to properly analyze their legacy without losing information on the next one. So I decided to let go of the complete trend report ambition and change the rules a bit. So what I am going to do is a post about how to get the spirit behind the trends from the runway, and how to convey it with your everyday life without having to buy a complete new wardrobe.
Besides, since everyone else seems to be doing the trend summary anyways, it certainly won’t be missed!
Rebirth and renewal were two of the major trends going through the runways this season. In some cases it went towards the romantic and ethereal like with Simone Rocha, with innocence charged dresses full of frills and tassels. Frills are going to reign over your clothes for this season, and so will embroideries with tassels. Even on a simple t-shirt, the frills will substitute sleeves or play along its edges to renew it completely.
Simone Rocha
The same can be said of using sheer fabrics, florals and stripes, as seen on the runway of Fendi and so many others.
Fendi
Relevance was also a very huge inspiration behind many designers. In the case of the Burberry collection, to quote BOF “… there is a real sense of a designer hungry for a creative turnaround…”, its impact changed the whole tenure of the brand and how it presents itself to the world. And truth be told, aren’t we all feeling a bit like that? Don’t we all fancy a little new season makeover?
Burberry
Don’t we all have a tartan piece hidden in the depths of our wardrobe? Be certain that these fabrics will make your ensemble do a complete 360 turn if used right. You don’t have to go crazy either, a bonnet, a pair of slacks, a small waist pack or a big tote bag. You can get go Londonite with Burberry or Americana with Tommy Hilfiger .
Tommy Hilfiger
You can invest in very little or in a big splurge and if tartan is not your thing, opt for its close cousin the gingham.
Another key concept was reusing and recycling, as seen in the show by J.W. Anderson. As he so expertly put it “…Once you put something out in the world, it comes back again…” and this is a motto we as a society could very much use right now. Concentrating more on what we create and what we feed to each other in terms of morals, behaviours and actions.
JW Anderson
The fact that many designers turned a look towards their roots, like Fashion East and Versace, shows how much we as a people need to look inwards to consider what we take outwards. Reinventing the past to create a better version of ourselves, that is the general feel in all the FWs. The thread to focus on, is precisely our ability to look backwards and celebrate the best in our past. In fact, if you do this with your own clothes, you might escape the need to acquire some new vintage items.
The East
Some materials or fabrics that will invigorate your ensemble are plastics, wanna be plastics that look nylony but are in fact cloth and rain-proof fabric, be it truly waterproof or not. A staple that is a sure win is to combine a wrap style, skirt or dress in a plastic fabric for a dystopian meets 50s feel. When Donatella was asked what she felt her brother’s influence on young designers now might be, after her runway show, she answered, “The courage to dare.” And this I say to you, dare to try some bondage inspired clothes, some metallic chainmails, and some serious power dressing.
Versace
I admit I’m biased towards the colour black, even though the bright stars of this season are the hot pink, the red and the yellow, black and white do provide a great overtone to build upon. This is actually true of every season, so creating an amalgam of classic pieces in those tones, of higher quality items, and adding love-at-first-sight seasonal pieces, that are cheaper, is a must. Green also made quite an appearance as the perfect partner to a navy blue that was very much used as an apt base to build upon.
I believe that one of the important aspects of fashion nowadays is that there is a trend for everyone. You can express your style by chosing where to adhere to a trend and where not to. In Europe, the collections had a moderate austerity whereas in New York there was a certain flair and extravaganza.
The epitome of the austerity, was Jil Sander. Even if it was a very sensual approach to the minimalistic side of feminity.
Jil Sanders
There is a growing trend that is pushing feminity towards sensuality and away from sexuality, as seen in Roberto Cavalli’s, Alberta Ferretti’s and Jacquemus ‘s runway shows. Perhaps the oversaturation of nudity and the oversexualization of women have finally reached a cusp where the only option is to decrease their presence and give way to a more delicate form of femininity.
Roberto Cavalli
Alberta Ferretti
Jacquemus
And with that our very short summary of the major trends (seen so far) at the runways comes to an end. We still have some very poignant runways shows on the horizon, like Yohji Yamamoto, Elie Saab, Loewe, Issey Miyake, Vivienne Westwood, and one of my personal favourites Alexander McQueen. So stay tuned for more interesting tips and data regarding trends!
Sources:
THE WANDERER 