GET READY FOR THE CLASH OF THE FASH
FROM THE CATWALK TO YOUR WARDROBE… GRACE CAHILL ON THE FASHION FIXES THAT WORK IN THE REAL WORLD
Fashion should be 40 per cent fun and 60 per cent functional – reflective of your personality yet considerate of what’s comfortable, practical and fitting. No point in a traffic-stopping outfit if it’s going to impinge on your daily lifestyle (or, in my case, pregnancy struggles). In a desperate bid to find mood-enchancing clothes that aren’t dripping in embellishment this season, I have found myself enamoured with print. Not perfectly aligned, matchy-matchy motifs but chaotic, thrown-together clashing action that can often be interpreted as creative and experimental or equally a cry for help (my new-found grá does not fall into the latter – I promise).
Clashing prints isn’t a huge act of rebellion, but when it comes to sartorial rule-breaking, it’s something we’re traditionally discouraged from doing. We’re taught to match and blend, to colour-block and colour-coordinate. This may seem lovely if you prefer life in a pristine expanse of pattern-block neutrals, but for the loyal maximalists of this world, rigorous coordination can feel downright boring. Jarring two incompatible, slightly wayward prints side by side can feel like combining fashion and art in a brilliant, deliberate explosion.
Designers have been clashing patterns for decades but it’s a look that made a considerable impact last season when Phoebe Philo spliced beige prints together at Celine and Max Mara played with multiple leopard print motifs. Autumn/winter floral abundance has meanwhile translated into a panorama of bold prints at Erdem and Richard Quinn, while constrasting checks were seen at Awake and Ashley Williams and stripes evolved from classic navy and black tones into multicoloured graphs at Gucci.
The high street hasn’t turned a blind eye either – a new sub-genre of separates in a mismatch of checks, geometrics and moody florals are all filtering through into collections at River Island, H&M and & Other Stories, while Zara has a cheerful array of matchy-mismatchy florals in ditsy blossoms and bolder 3D blooms. Investment brands like Rixo and Ganni’s signature vintage-inspired prints are also known and loved for their abstract florals in clashing motifs while labels like Whistles and Me & Em have been upping their print game too – I have my eye on a silky cat-print blazer and culottes for post-baby festivities.
If you’re a sucker for earthy neutrals, jarring prints might take a bit of getting used to but think of it as a new wall colour that you eventually adjust to. The easiest gateway for minimalists is printed shirts or softly structured blouses teamed with a high-waisted skirt and knee-boots, trousers or a boiler suit for day-to-night appeal. When it comes to shopping for actual staples you can wear again and again, decide on a era that you love (I’m a ’70s gal at heart) and mismatch motifs in a colour that suits you. A good idea too is to group your clothes into genres: That silky copper-printed blouse that you can now envision with a black/ brown floral midi skirt or a moody winter floral dress given a new lease of life with jazzy leopard print boots.
FOR THE LOYAL MAXIMALISTS OF THIS WORLD, COORDINATION FEELS RATHER BORING