Every season there is clearly a revival vibe somewhere. This season it’s clearly the eighties. When I think of the eighties, I see loud colors, padded shoulders, velvet and shiny fabrics at night.
The eighties woman had an inverted triangle torso on super-long legs. Well this time, I feel the revival is a bit more nuanced and darker, gloomier. You can see wide shoulders, which has been a constant thing at Balenciaga in the last seasons. But now, it’s also at Givenchy, Marc Jacobs, more and more at Saint Laurent. It seems like the Balenciaga effect is spreading across all the different fashion cities. While Saint Laurent stays true to the style of their house, with lurex threads and jaquards, Balmain is using combined materials to create something that probably wouldn’t have been possible, technically, 30 years ago.
Balenciaga went further: See those hips? There the garment has been molded onto the body and then covered with fabric. It’s a very new method. Very interesting. The shoulder pads could be lighter, to make the whole look a bit more office-wearable. But in fact, a wide-shoulder silhouette like this can really be executed in different styles: in outerwear, jackets, tops, dresses… It’s really quite versatile. Now question to you. When you see this board, do you think it feels modern and reinvented, or it just looks eighties? Second trend: shades of brown. Brown is a neutral. You can use it just like navy blue or black to really ground a look.
And when you combine different shades of brown with some deep reds and yellows, you can get a beautiful color palette! Chanel went muted, with a very earthy brown… but then added some shiny fabric underneath, just because it fits so well in that eighties vibe. Chloé picked a collar that could absolutely be worn in the movie “American Hustle”… Actually, if you’re looking for reference information for that trend, the movie American Hustle is filled with earthy scenes, and great color schemes where the clothing is matching the wallpaper, to create a harmony.
It’s brilliant. Back to the trend board. Fendi went all-in and put the double-F logo, brown on brown, everywhere. Jacquemus added colorful accents in a more subtle manner. My favorite looks are the Tod’s looks, these two. They stayed in one consistent color palette and made the textures vary. The way Tod’s did it is A-league because it means that you’re matching every single piece in the outfit to that mood, so it’s not easy to start with. But an easier way of doing it is the way Jacquemus did it. You get one central garment that is brown, and then you add accents of colors with the accessories and the rest around it. For instance, you take brown pants in a brown that fits your skin tone, your undertone, and then add a patterned top and matching accessories which you already own. So you only get one new piece, and the rest is already in your closet. Brown is a color that can exist in warm and cool versions, so it can really work for everyone. The next trend is not layering; it’s overlayering.
Layering is something you would naturally do in winter. (I know I would, because I’m always cold). But here, this season, it’s more than that. Accent on “more”. It feels like we need to protect ourselves against something. Is it subconscious? What happened to trigger this need for more layers? It is everywhere, on all runways. I could have found twenty more examples to put on this board. I think the Balenciaga look has at least 6 layers… if I am counting this right.
But even at houses like Lemaire or Tory Burch, which are usually more… I’d say more classic… you see these cocoons of protection. Notice the detail at Maison Margiela… These sleeves are knitted into a woven jacket. This is high craftsmanship. At Vuitton, you see the most wearable option, I think: this turtleneck with a top or a dress on top of it, which has super thin spaghetti-like straps. There are plenty of options to make this combination work, and make it more or less lightweight, like the turtleneck underneath could be light-knit, instead of this thicker thing. It could be a skin-toned. flowy, silky blouse, closed here with a ribbon, or it could be a transparent shirt, since the top covers you already anyways. The next trend would be sophisticated knitwear. I personally love knitwear, and I think it’s a pity when the runways show only cable-knit and jersey, because there are so many more ways to knit a yarn into something creative.
So this season, I am super happy with what I am seeing. All the examples on this board are special developments, designed by the houses and then knitted exactly as they want. There’s nothing standard here. Etro is traditionally an expert in this kind of fabric, and this look is so them, but still creative and new. The Sacai look is new for me. You can tell that there is some ethnic inspiration, but the result seems modern and unique – which means that it’s good creative work. It’s getting inspiration somewhere, and then turning it into something new, which is your own interpretation of it.
Dior and Prada are completely wearable. I do enjoy the way Prada took a classic knit pattern and added a super-contemporary logo to it. Prada always tends to mix genres and work on the perception that we have of what good taste and bad taste are. The look by Christopher Kane is probably embellished by hand, and it also feels very special. A key accessory this season would be a mid-calf boot.
Originally I called this trend the cowboy trend, but then I changed my mind, and you will see why. We see some boots that have that center split, like cowboy boots, in materials with top-stitched patterns on top, like on cowboy boots. Isabel Marant is the queen of that. She consistently shows designs like that on the feet of the models in her collections. So this winter will clearly be hers. But then the boots are white, or they are in materials that are not meant for the outdoors. Some are even slouchy and draped around the leg, really. So they are too delicate to be called cowboy boots. My favorite one is the Fendi one, which you see also from the side. The heel is fabulous. Statement jewelry, now more than ever. Massive jewelry, especially when it’s colorful, or when it’s using gemstones, can’t help but attract the eye. It is also great to set bold accents in a more regular, standard outfit, even if you wouldn’t describe your style as bold. Here are some options. Imagine these smaller and you’ll get what the fantasy jewelry brands will offer this year.
Jewelry is a product category where whatever comes out in fine jewelry and on runways gets copied by cheaper brands, in more wearable ways. I also feel like gemstones are getting used more and more, much more than in previous years, in all sorts of colors. So that will be fun. There are also two trends from last fall which are still very, very present this year. Red as a dominant color is still broadly used. I wonder if the movie “The Handmaid’s Tale”, with the red cloak, had an impact on the designers’ minds. It did leave a mark in my mind for sure. Originally it was a book, and a great one, in case you haven’t read it. And then plaid patterns, a classical motif for winter, keep being reinvented in original ways. We’re playing with the size, the colors, and the textures. If you have clothes that fit in to those categories, keep them, wear them again.
As found on Youtube