Nine style lessons to take from New York Fashion Week

Cool chintz, power pastels and office-appropriate kilts? Charlie Gowans-eglinton reports on the Big Apple’s key spring trends – and those to shop for now

SATIN FOR DAY Cindy Crawford’s daughter Kaia Gerber might only be 16 (yes, really. And only just), but she’s already cut her modelling teeth walking the catwalk for one of New York’s most talked-about labels. This was former Dior designer Raf Simons’s second season at the helm of Calvin Klein, and while many concepts here were new, it was the riffs on his debut season’s colourblock shirt and trouser combinations, as modelled by Gerber right, that piqued interest the most. Why? The masculine-cut pieces now becoming signatures of the house came in high-shine satin, reappropriating the evening wear fabric for day. Think of this as the spring summer update to this coming winter’s velvet – the ultimate in desk to dinner laziness. As seen at Calvin Klein SS18

FRINGED EDGES

Just as we spent this summer attempting to fit ruffles underneath jackets, so will we spend next summer addressing fringed edges. Calvin Klein’s fully-fringed dresses and bags would be perfect for dancing, but less perfect on your morning commute – far too easy to get stuck in the tube door. Paired with jeans, Diane von Furstenberg’s fringed blouses would offer plenty of shimmy with far less risk – and far fewer strange glances, were you to wear said fringing to Waitrose. As seen at Diane von Furstenberg SS18 PORCELAIN FLORALS “Chintz” isn’t usually a word I’d put anywhere near your (or my) wardrobe, but the latest incarnation of this perennial print is just that: chintzy. These are the doily on the table, plates on the wall, cup and saucer sort of florals, with the (mostly) modest silhouette to match. Mostly, since Zimmermann balanced long hemlines on the bottom with plunging ones up top, Ulla Johnson offered demure silhouettes in semi-sheer fabrics, and Brock Collection’s “Thomas Hardy maiden gone a milking” puff-sleeve dress was worn pulled off one shoulder, as if post-romp. Yes, you might match your china cabinet – but only in the best possible way. As seen at Zimmermann SS18 Brock Collection SS18 Ulla Johnson SS18

GELATO COLOURS

Sander Lak, the founder of Sies Marjan, doesn’t seek inspiration – he seeks colour. “It’s gut instinct. We make a colour chart, and from there we pick the fabrics that go with it. Once we’ve got all the colours and fabrics ready, we’ve got the ingredients of our meal.”

It’s possible that Marjan and his fellow designers have been eating at the same gelateria, as variations on the same pastel shades popped up again and again – pistachio at Sandy Liang, lemon at Cushnie et Ochs, cornflower blue at Carolina Herrera and lilac at Victoria Beckham and Tibi. One block of colour will do, but two shades clashed together are even better – try mint green with lavender.

As seen at Sies Marjan SS18

EASY SKIRTS

Simplicity often pays off in design, so long as the execution is spot on. “It’s not about creating show pieces that are not wearable. That’s not how I want to dress, it’s not how I believe women want to dress,” said Victoria Beckham. How she does believe women want to dress involved wide leg trousers, checked shirts and – the pièce de quiet résistance – pleated mid-calf skirts. Not pleated all the way, that will add bulk to hips and bums, and not so finely pleated to make them an ironing nightmare. These were kilt-y, but office-appropriate, and came in loads of colours. We’d wear ours with knee-high boots. As seen at Victoria Beckham SS18

POLISHED PJS

Pyjama dressing has become a runaway trend over the past few seasons, usually combining vibrant prints with, well, pyjama comfort. Wearing a matching shirt and trouser set can be tricky, though – get it wrong, and you’ll look like you dashed out when the fire alarm went off. Tory Burch’s scarf-print silks (sourced from the print archive of late interior designer

David Hicks) offer a solution – try her matching blouse and skirt set, or follow her lead and style a pyjama suit with a white cotton shirt over the top – it will break up the print, and make the set feel instantly more “day”. Pair with flat mules – the closest thing to slippers that you can wear to work. As seen at Tory Burch SS18

POWER BLAZERS

You might already own a take on next season’s cover-up, the shoulder-padded suit jacket. But while black, navy, or checked would work for the office, it’s the brightest versions that will give most bang for your buck, with trousers and a T-shirt by day (see Oscar de la Renta’s bright red) or over an evening dress, as seen at Tom Ford, for unfussy event dressing. You needn’t wait until next season, either – there are lots of good coloured suits on the high street (Mango’s red is particularly nice) at the moment – skip the matching trousers and layer the jacket over summer dresses instead on cool autumnal days. As seen at Tom Ford SS18

NINETIES VS SEVENTIES

One of the greatest sports at any fashion week is spotting which sartorial heydays the designers are referencing, and which era’s silhouettes they will be asking us to reconsider for the new season. At Diane von Furstenberg, Jonathan Saunders was putting his new spin on the Seventies’ greatest hits, while Tom Ford led the pack tipping the Nineties – all high-shine bomber jackets and high-cut leotards. Alexander Wang, too, was keen to revisit grungier days with khaki combat trousers and leather corsets. Keep tally as the season progresses through the London, Milan and Paris shows to determine which decade will prevail in your wardrobe. As seen at Alexander Wang SS18 SMART DENIM Often, catwalk spins on denim are deconstructed, ripped, paint-splattered, and a bit much for everyday life. AW18’S smartened-up denim is an exception: Hellessy’s wide-leg, cuffed denim trousers would be appropriate for most office dress codes paired with a silk blouse, Zadig & Voltaire’s indigo army jacket is a good evening option, and Colovos’s well cut denim jumpsuit is far from scruffy. Tibi’s boxy trouser suit and utilitarian buttoned pencil skirt will both work with heels or dressy flats, and will offer a great entry into denim if the fabric always seems too casual for your wardrobe, since they’re cut along tailoring lines. As seen at Tibi SS18