The catwalk report: our short cut to the new season
HOW TO NAVIGATE the trends now? This autumn/winter, or any other season in the fashionsphere, for that matter, it’s tricky. When designers no longer dictate en masse that skirts should be maxi or mini; trousers flared or slim; shoes heeled or flat, and when their diktats are no longer upheld, as one almighty message, through magazines and department stores, getting a clear picture of what is actually going on (and most important) becomes harder. Today’s fashion is splintered into a million micro-groups and it’s coming at you 24/7 through social media and direct-to-consumer everything. What has resulted is a complex menu of options.
Yet, every season a few mega-trends emerge that demand attention, not only because of their visual ubiquity but because they will dominate the fashion conversation in the coming months – and don’t we all want to be able to take part in that? Nobody’s forcing you to buy into them, we’re just asking you to consider them – why they have emerged now, how they make you feel – so that you can make a more informed choice.
This time, the trend-in-chief was power and protection. Hardly surprising, given these collections were conceived in the wake of #Metoo and #Timesup; women’s empowerment was at the forefront of designers’ minds. Shouldn’t it always be, you’re probably thinking? Clothes that
make the wearer feel strong and confident should be a given, not a response to a cultural moment. But when women are demanding equality in the workplace and an end to sexual harassment, who can blame designers for responding to the bigger picture – after all, that’s what fashion is.
On the one hand, this meant designers gleefully plundered the 1980s, the era of the power suit, with cartoonishly giant shoulderpads, power furs (fake doppelgängers), leather sheaths for day and second-skin bandages and lacy cocktail dresses with enormous taffeta sleeves for night. It also meant extreme layering (modesty dressing on steroids, if you like); the wearer shielded from not only the elements but unwanted advances. Who’d tackle a woman wearing the clothing equivalent of a fortified mountain? If you can’t be bothered to assemble multiple stratums (or it’s too warm), your best solution would be the new blankets worn as coats – security and comfort nailed in one easy piece. This and a hat, be it a cap, trilby, headscarf, sou’wester or, most preferably, a hand-knit balaclava, are both highly prized totems of 2018.
When it comes to workwear, the skirt suit and trouser suit are battling for supremacy. The former looks fresher as it’s been a long time since we’ve seen them. But these are not the matchy-matchy matronly blazer-and-pencil-skirt combos of old – jackets are longer, as are skirts, hovering around the calf and often pleated, so the look is looser and the feeling freer. Meanwhile, the long dress continues. Covering from throat to ankle, it provides the ideal canvas for a splash of colour or swirl of print. This season’s print memo? Don’t hold back on vibrant silk-scarf patterns. And it’s time to get used to some curious colours: purple, from lavender to amethyst, and brown – yes, brown – it’s the new black.
What should you be most excited about this season? Other than the new chunky tweeds, a miniature cape, a pair of super-sneaks (there’s no stopping the trainer revolution) and earrings that double as wearable art? One word: eveningwear. It’s not shocking, groundbreaking or controversial – rather it speaks the universal language of timeless beauty. And it begs the question: isn’t it time we started dressing up again?