Suits, lace and leather – these trends, and others, all add up to surprisingly wearable Fall/Winter 2010 collections.
ARE designers playing safe for Fall? Yes, and no.
Fashion tends to follow the dictates of the economy and is a reflection of our times. That’s why you can sort of chart the economy through hemlines, they say: if the economy’s up, so are hemlines; if it’s not so healthy, we’ll be wearing long skirts. But there will always be designers who will be different, which is what makes fashion fun and unpredictable!
So this season, apart from the noticeable wearability of clothes as seen at Prada and Celine, you get some geometric and graphic pieces from Balenciaga, Marc by Marc Jacobs, and Zac Posen.
Generally, most designers have emphasised tailoring, with the focus, this time around, being on what people could actually wear – it’s not easy to translate fantastical runway clothes into everyday wear but several collections managed it quite well for Fall/Winter 2010.
Bottega VenetaMarc Jacobs, for one, had a safe collection, as did Prada and Dolce & Gabbana. Celine, under Phoebe Philo, is already a byword for perfect pieces to complete and complement an existing wardrobe; Gucci also brought out a collection of lovely, wearable clothes.
There are some things that will always remain true in Fall, though: leather and fur are still key trends and there was, as always, plenty of glamour and sparkle as well as a lot of richness in texture and fabric.
If Spring/Summer 2010 featured light leather in nude shades, Fall/Winter goes back to black leather.
It was like a roll-call of brands with leather: Bottega Veneta, Dior, Balmain, Hermes and DKNY offered everything from trench coats to trousers in leather. And yes, the all-leather look is something to think about for Fall.
BalenciagaFur is something that will always appear during Fall/Winter, and Chanel was prominent in displaying it in coats, trimming and boots (see our round-up of Fall/Winter accessories, All or nothing, right).
Lanvin also featured fur along with Michael Kors, who fur-trimmed his clutches.
The military trend is still going strong, we’re obviously not done with it yet; this was seen at Burberry, which had military coats and aviator-style jackets, and Max Mara, which offered that classic combination of trench coats and boots.
Minimalism was back in the forefront, this time with a more sophisticated style.
The emphasis was very much on the quality of the luxurious fabrics, so the perfect cut and tailoring were very important. Frida Giannini of Gucci came out with a collection you could build an entire wardrobe on.
These two trends combined to produce collections full of classical looks and wearability, as seen from the trousers, great tops, and the perfect pea coat from Phoebe Philo at Celine; even Marc Jacobs came out with a collection from which you could pick classic pieces.
Another trend was suits. There was Alexander Wang and his deconstructed pinstripe suits; Stella McCartney showcased some great suits while Bottega Veneta had an amazing all-leather one; Dolce & Gabbana had beautifully-cut jackets and even Diane Von Furstenberg, that grande dame of dresses, did suits!
Lace was another favourite trend, with Burberry showing off lace skirts and blouses and Dolce & Gabbana and Givenchy also adding lashings of lace.
Also look for more feminine clothes this coming Fall/Winter: Christian Dior had plenty of chiffon and ruffles and Versace sent out fitted and short dresses along with elegant long ones as well.
Louis Vuitton had curves in the forefront with a collection of corsetted dresses with full skirts.
Draping as always was a prominent feature in collections from Alexander Wang, Halston, Lanvin, Narcisco Rodriguez and Rodarte, to name a few.
Designers used velvet as well as metallics for that all-important shine.
If you like capes, there are plenty to choose from, long or short; Phillip Lim showcased several, Marc Jacob’s had one in shearling, and Alexander Wang had a long version.
And the colour for this season? Black, of course! Elegant, simple and perfect.
