Trends

Paris Fashion Week fall winter 2011/2012 recap

 in General Fashion / Trends  tagged fall 2011 / paris fashion week / runway trends / winter 2012 by

Paris Fashion Week ended on Wednesday and left fashion fans sad and happy at the same time. Sad because we have run out of runway shows to watch, and happy because we now have a glimpse of which trends from spring are continuing into fall. We also now have insight into new, up and coming trends.

New York and Milan visited past decades from the Art Deco era, the Depression era, the 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s. In Paris, the tone was more sedate and although designers took their inspiration from the same time periods that were shown in New York and Milan, the tone was dark and serious.

Louis Vuitton took visitors on a train ride in the 1940’s with a serious yet classic tone. The music was deliberate and the silhouettes were ladylike and tailored. Chanel sent their collection down a runway that seemed as if it had been bombed out and dressed models as if they were walking on the city streets; not showing Chanel’s collection to buyers, editors and clients.

The overall vibe of Paris Fashion Week was tailored; long hemlines, dark colors, luxurious fabrics and a return to ladylike dressing. Black was a dominant color with spots of red, burgundy, mustard, forest green and shades of grey. Winter white also made an appearance on the runway either alone or paired with black.

The shoes shown on the runway varied between high heel booties, lace ups and menswear inspired tie shoes. Paris showed a handbag collection that mirrored what was seen in Milan with a large amount of top handle satchels, shoulder bags and daytime clutches.

It should be interesting to see which styles hit city streets and which trends remain on the runway and in the archives. Will we be seeing a large amount of red? Will everyone dress in black and grey? Will worn jeans make a comeback paired with luxury aka Chanel? Will Art Deco and the Depression push the 1970’s out of 2012? It should be interesting to which trends store buyers gravitate towards, and which ones are left without any orders for fall.

To view a video of the Louis Vuitton show, please click here.

To see fifty photos from Chanel, please click here. 

Milan Fashion Week fall winter 2011/2012 recap

 in General Fashion / Trends  tagged fall 2011 / milan fashion week / runway trends / winter 2012 by

Milan Fashion Week ended today and has left Fashionistas everywhere with a glimpse of what may end up on store shelves for fall. The trends on the Milan runways differed slightly from what was seen on the New York runway a week ago. While New York showed a heavy vintage influence from the 1970’s and art deco periods, Milan delved into the 1980’s, 1970’s, 1960’s and Gothic eras.

The 1980’s popped up on several of the Milan runways with Dolce & Gabbana creating the most reminiscent collection of them all. Designers showed leggings under large tee-shirts, bright colors mixed together, slim menswear and baggy over tight. Disco worthy dresses also pranced down the runways at shows such as Gucci.

Milan continued the 1970’s trend which was a large part of the spring collections for fall 2011. There were wide leg trousers, long shoulder strap on handbags (Gucci and Roberto Cavalli) and long hemlines that nearly touched the floor.

Blumarine and Gianfranco Ferre both had different takes on the 1960’s trend. Bluemarine showed brightly colored and tonal ensembles while Gianfranco Ferre showed the softer side of the decade.

Roberto Cavalli brought the Gothic era to the Milan Fashion Week runways with dark and textured ensembles mixed with dark eye-makeup and a whimsical yet dark way of integrating leopard print into the fabrics.

To view the Prada fashion show please click here.

To highlights from the Gucci show, please click here.

It should be interesting to see which trends hit store shelves in the fall. Will the Cavalli bring back goth? The 1970’s are here to stay, at least for 2011; will they continue into spring 2012? Paris Fashion Week started on March 1, 2011. Let’s see what the city of Haute Couture brings to the runways. . .

New York Fashion Week fall winter 2011/2012 recap

 in General Fashion / Trends  tagged fall 2011 / new york fashion week / winter 2012 by

New York Fashion Week ended yesterday and London begins today, but before London calls, New York Fashion Week has left us quite a bit to talk about. The week kicked off with a charitable red dress fashion show as part of the American Heart Association’s Go Red campaign. The red dresses were modeled by celebrities and signaled more than just heart disease awareness; the red dresses gave the fashion world a glimpse of what was about to appear on the runways.

Red was everywhere. It did not seem to matter what type of collection a designer created. Whether the collection was art deco, vintage 1970’s or new-age 1980’s, there were splashes of red. Red was paired with everything from shades of brown, blended in with deep oranges and showed off on black/white ensembles. Fashionistas found that a single pair of red shoes or a red handbag could easily update a minimalism outfit from last year; with the addition of bold jewels of course. 

The decade of the week was the 1970’s. Everyone from Diesel Black Gold to MARC by Marc Jacobs showed 1970’s silhouettes on the runway. There were long hemlines, earth tone colors, long shoulder strap handbags, tassels, fringe, natural fabrics and floppy hats.

The art deco period and early 1900’s appeared on select runways including Marc Jacobs. There were vintage inspired column dresses, flapper fringe and the ever-popular Lady Bag.

Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein stayed true to their roots and went with minimalism. Ralph Lauren gave the fashion world a luxurious version with black ensembles made from decadent fabrics with hand stitched details. Calvin Klein fused space-age and new-age with minimalism lines. The Calvin Klein collection appeared rather bland at the end of the week when compared with the vibrant collections other designers showed on the runways.

It should be interesting to see which trends continue on the London, Paris and Milan catwalks. Will there be more red? Will the 1970’s continue with a vengeance? Will we start sneaking into speakeasies? Will the platform ever come back to earth? We shall see as the most important fashion weeks continue. . .