ANYTHING GOES

With a fashion landscape that’s more liberal and egalitarian than ever before, Zara Wong investigates the cultural shifts and myriad influences driving this change.

The fashion landscape is more liberal and egalitarian than ever before.

So who do you want to be today? The chic gypset dresser who favours Chloé, in a mélange of caramel, beige and cream; the daytime music festival attendee in an ombré T-shirt that she clashes and complements with psychedelic-infused prints from Paco Rabanne; Marni’s layered creative; or Balenciaga’s boldshouldered couture-meets-street?

The most frequently asked question posited to a ‘fashion person’: “What is in?” is currently considered moot. Because right now, anything goes.

Tom Ford showed cropped jackets alongside long-line blazers, and at Loewe we had the option of tailored shorts or liquid-silk maxi-skirts. It’s pro-choice, in a sartorial sense. “There’s definitely more choice now than ever in fashion,” agrees Tiffany Hsu, MyTheresa’s fashion buying director. “Now that subculture and street fashion are represented in high fashion, it definitely makes fashion more diverse and creates many options for different type of aesthetics.”

Elizabeth Leventhal, general merchandising manager of ready-to-wear at Moda Operandi, looks to the globalisation of fashion. “Globally, fashion is not one trend fits all. Boho dresses, a huge trend the past few seasons, coexisted in the same world as the micro-mini,” she says. “Fashion is no longer directed by four key cities. It’s a much larger conversation now.”

And with more choice in fashion, there’s more to experiment with. “If there’s one good thing about the multitude of styles available, it’s the mixing, matching and playing with individual style that’s benefitted,” says Helen Sac, consulting director at trend forecasting agency WGSN.

Leventhal agrees. “There is the element of interpreting and personalising trends based on your own personal style.” Take neutral tones: you can choose Fendi’s modern utility with pockets and a matching peekaboo, or Burberry’s polite blouse and pleated skirt sets.

The spring/summer ’19 season seems to have more looks, lengths and colours to choose from than ever. Or flip it on its head: maybe there has always been the same number, but now in 2019, with the influx of imagery and content on various platforms, we are even more aware of the plethora of choices available. As Anna Wintour said this January at an Australian Fashion Council (AFC) and Vogue event about the ease of access in fashion: “How great is it that fashion is available to everybody today? It is a global world of fashion now and the influences are coming from every possible direction … It’s extraordinary and creative and inspiring.”

So what will set it apart? “Uniqueness will be the new newness,” says Sac. “There will be more value in

unique one-off pieces, whether it be vintage designer or handmade craft.” It’s a call that was responded to by Natacha Ramsay-Levi at Chloé, Julien Dossena at Paco Rabanne and Jonathan Anderson at Loewe.

At his show, Dossena brought back the Paco Rabanne of the 60s. “I thought more about inner travel – in the mind,” he said, “about a wardrobe of someone’s souvenirs mixed with her own classics.”

Loewe’s pieces spotlighted the mark of the hand, whether it be printed patchworks or crocheted handbags. To underscore its point, the Spanish label commissioned basketweaving artisan Joe Hogan to create sculptures for the show. Loewe has done a roaring trade on its woven palm leaf basket bags from last season, which reappeared this time in different colours. Chanel, meanwhile, released woven wicker bags with leather logo CC trims, and Instagram is awash with imagery of girls showing off their straw bags.

“FASHION ISN’T PIGEONHOLED INTO A FEW KEY LOOKS OR STYLES”

“It’s free, it’s sensual, it’s satin, it’s a mass of textures. I feel this is what the brand is becoming – its DNA … I had the idea about people walking through a gallery space who are individuals but connected by a common thread,” said Anderson about the Loewe collection backstage.

“This moment [of more trends] has been a huge asset to designers,” says Leventhal. “Niche brands can thrive since fashion isn’t pigeonholed into a few key looks or styles, and designers can stay true to themselves.”

If Anderson at Loewe has keyed into what the Spanish brand’s DNA is with this season, other brands, like Stella McCartney, are affirming their own style. British designer Stella McCartney acquired full control of her label from Kering last March. And for spring/summer ’19 – the first Stella McCartney collection on the runway since becoming independent – the collection exuded breezy comfort with matching coloured sets, in orange (see previous page), neutral shades and acid-washed denim – yes, it’s back!

In another power move, Dries Van Noten showed his first womenswear collection since he announced the sale of a stake of his company to the conglomerate Puig to ensure longevity and sustainability for his beloved label. “People are going to try to see the change in the women’s collection, but won’t discover a lot,” the Belgian designer told Vogue last year. In an all-white, light-filled runway space, the collection showed off a typically Van Noten mash-up of sportswear, couture details and watercolour prints. The designs are not meant to distract from the plights of the world, but to equip us for surviving in it.

“Outside there is a war,” Alessandro Michele of Gucci said backstage after his show in Paris. “Not a real war, but a metaphorical war. There’s chaos. But inside [a fashion show], time stops.” Although fantastical, the Gucci collection

could easily be taken apart and worn separately. Pierpaolo Piccioli at Valentino reached new heights of breathtaking beauty for ready-to-wear this season. “Everyone is talking about escapism. But I don’t believe in that – l think everyone should just live their identities in the city, or wherever they are,” he said after the Valentino show, with the view of designing clothes for women that best show their true selves.

It is no secret that labels are trying to court the millennial generation, a group that is making more conscious decisions about what it buys, eats and wears. Broadly, they are careful how they select the signifiers to express themselves. So if fashion labels want to curry their favour, they need to have authentic meaning and intention behind the business, and if it’s not authentic, watchdog Instagram accounts @dietprada and @esteelaundry, for fashion and beauty respectively, are quick to clarify any discrepancies between brands and their messaging.

“We are seeing signs of global economies slowing down, so it is becoming crucial to differentiate your business through innovative and sustainable practices,” says Sac on what fashion labels need to do to stand out. Alongside sustainability stalwarts like Stella McCartney, there is also

“THE INFLUENCES ARE COMING FROM EVERY POSSIBLE DIRECTION”

New Zealand-based Maggie Marilyn, designed by millennial-aged designer Maggie Hewitt, who focuses on ethically sourced fabrics and local production. Gucci, on its website Equilibrium.gucci.com, publicly states that it has switched from using virgin plastic to recycled plastics and last year recovered 87 tonnes of material scraps.

At the New York Times Luxury Conference in Hong Kong earlier this year, Creative Artists Agency CEO Steve Hasker revealed an actress he described as an “icon amongst millennials” turned down a US$20-million endorsement deal from a company with no women on the board.

In a world where topics of discussion ranged from what women needed – oh, the obliteration of the gender pay gap, greater control over our bodies, just for starters – the runways needed to have a greater sensitivity for the current climate. Fashion has evolved from relying on using feminism as a marketing statement. As Miuccia Prada said: “What worries me is the simplification … [even today] politics is run by slogans, now not even slogans, by hashtag … at a certain point, you can’t say anything.”

So now, runways reflect an awareness of what feminism is to fashion today: that there is no singular type of woman, that there are many, and that they can exist simultaneously.

The statement shoulders at Louis Vuitton, Balmain and Celine are a quick signifier to the capitalistic 80s (that era of capitalist opportunity) and sit alongside the airy pleats at Valentino and Dior. Choose either or all of the above – you can be a 2019 survivor in whatever you choose.

If you’re going to go for colour, this is the time to really be going for it. From marigold yellow to the kind of blue only seen in Australian skies, it’s not a spring/summer ’19 trend without an all-over dose of a single tone. CHASING RAINBOWS

With silhouettes of late emphasising drama and volume, our eyes have adjusted to expect a top-heavy shape. Drawing from menswear influences – but oversized and exaggerated for the runway – it’s a razor-sharp entrée into one of the season’s most powerful looks. SHOULDER TO SHOULDER

NEUTRAL GROUND Here’s a fashion trick for all the ages: an outfit in shades of beige is the lazy (or extremely busy) woman’s shortcut to sartorial polish. And there is variation within the scope, from Chanel’s lady-like gold-flecked beige suit set layered with gold and pearls to Dion Lee’s multi-textured beige look of lace, knits and crepe.

OFF THE BEATEN TRACK “I wanted it to be super-refined, almost giving a grunge, modern silhouette, but with all those delicate elements … there’s a bit of a mystic feel,” said Julien Dossena of Paco Rabanne’s critically lauded show. Cloths that remind one of journeying – quilting, jacquards and coin-embellished – were given a sophisticated rendering with luxurious fabrics and sleeker lines.

Ah. Breathe in. Think of these looks as whispers of a gentler mood, spun into threads of plissé pleated chiffons and silks that float by on the runway. And in shades that you might find at the dessert counter – meringue-white, sponge-cake yellow and pistachio – these are the counterpoint to, well, let’s say the less positive forces that are in play in the world at the moment. LET THERE BE LIGHT

It might seem like we’ve seen it all: tailored dark denim, frayed, raw and more, but spring takes the ultimate modern wardrobe staple of denim and one-ups it with tie-dye, patchwork and acid-washed looks (uh-huh – they’ve gone there). Head-to-toe and matching sets – the time is now to reconsider the denim suit or blue-jean boots. WORK OF ART Ranginging from pop-art touches tto 90s scribbled graphics and swerving into painterly strokes, this free-hand approach to prints injects a playful vibrancy to stalwart houses like Louis Vuitton and Loewe. They’re Crayola-bright and create the sensation of movement and energy within an outfit. We’ve seen tie-dye and watercolour prints – this is next in line for the colour evolution. TRUE BLUE