How to be in fashion now – catwalk report A/W ’17
CATWALK REPORT A/W 2017
SO, DID FASHION TURN
the world on its axis for autumn/ winter 2017? Did designers make great leaps, the likes of which we’ve never seen before? In fact, did
anything change? Yes and no. The world is in a spin: Trump. Brexit. Elections. Terrorism. Is it any wonder designers, like the rest of us, have been a bit distracted? The daily drip feed of anxiety-inducing news is hardly conducive to feeling great surges of creativity. At the autumn/winter 2017 shows, there was no ‘big bang’ moment – well, aside from Chanel launching an actual rocket. And there were no surprising trends – unless you happen to be flabbergasted by the sheer volume of fake fur, feathers and quilting. (If ever there were three great ways to cushion oneself from the world…)
But away with the doom and gloom! At the end of the day, designers are sellers – pure and simple – it’s their job to entice you to spend. And if that means a pair of crystal-encrusted chainmail boots (Saint Laurent) or a huge swaddling coat (the clothing equivalent of a safety net), then so be it.
We’re in the fashion era of Appropriate versus Escapism. Both of which are good things for our wardrobes. On the one hand, these unsettling times have helped activate some genuinely sensible clothes to go to work in. On the other, it’s galvanised some serious escapism – and, oh boy, don’t we all need a bit of that. See the trend for all things space age, designers’ deep nostalgia for the 1970s, bonkers texture-clashing or the latest shades to be worn head-to-toe – radiant reds versus dreamy blues.
Trouser suits – nothing new, of course, we’ve been wearing them for almost 100 years – but today they seem more relevant than ever. Some will tell you it has something to do with the fifth (or is it the sixth?) wave of feminism, or the idea that we need to weaponise our wardrobes and put on armour to face the world. But, to my mind, it’s not about looking or acting like a man and we’re not ‘borrowing from the boys’ – they’re our bloody suits, thanks. It’s about an ever-increasing movement in fashion to cover up, be it in dresses (longer), coats (bigger), trousers (baggier) and collars (hugest of all). It’s all so anti-kardashian! And that can only be a good thing.
And what about you? Do you have any head space for fashion? Do you even care? Very few of us actually need any more clothes – particularly expensive designer ones – but isn’t it a delicious diversion to fantasise about what you would and wouldn’t wear from the catwalks? And if you do actually shop it, that heart-pounding feeling when you get it right? I hope you find what you’re looking for here – especially if it’s that transformative thing you didn’t even know you wanted yet.
Let your spirits soar…