THE NEW RULES
AU TU MN/ WINTER CAT WALK REPORT
DISRUPTION! ACTION! Creativity! Confusion! That’s fashion right now – and what’s landing in stores as I write this. How to unpack a season that showed everything from supersized silhouettes to body-con, elegance to eccentricity, streetwise casuals to couture gowns, hyper-femininity to defeminisation, fantasy to reality?
We saw the rebel uprising of the Vetements/balenciaga gang led by chief troublemaker Demna Gvasalia, coupled with the traction of Alessandro Michele’s ever more eccentric Gucci – twin forces that sparked a surge of anti-establishment spirit. What all that means for you is it’s time to brave individuality to the max – be it in the form of a gigantically oversized rolling-off-the-shoulder puffa coat or a vintagey mash-up of colour, print and fabric.
Make no mistake, femininity is being fiercely debated this season, but for all the giant hoodies and tractor-tread boots, there were plenty of collections jampacked with real-life potential. How to tailor you has become a hot topic – military precision seems to be the answer, with the trench winning the coat of the season. And see the rise of ath-fash with the infiltration of sporty references everywhere (best at Louis Vuitton), giving a zip to second-skin leggings, jumpsuits and slip dresses. Some designers solved the great outdoors by making it fit for the city (see Prada’s tweed-clad vagabonds, Pucci’s mountain prints and Chloé’s motorcycle leathers). Others claimed pretty or full-on richness as their cause – velvet, brocade and lavish embroideries bedecked the loveliest and most glamorous of dresses. It’s all change on the colour front, where you’ll find a whole new palette inspired by the spice rack – yes, it’s time to replace navy and black with cinnamon and paprika. And finally, is that… could it be… a new kind of sexiness on the horizon? Check out your new erogenous zones: the waist, neck and bust. New season means new you: reinvent yourself!
BE MORE REBEL
Warning: the designer rebel uprising may strike FOF (fear of fashion) in the heart of many of you. It may even cause FSO (fashion switch-off) in which case PTO (please turn over). If not, embrace your individuality to the core and look for the surprise element in everything you buy, be it a head- to-toe kaleidoscope of flflorals, weirdly wonderful tailoring or immensely out- there sizing. Enjoy!
SUPERSIZED
Inflation is officially a thing. But rather than designers having premonitions about the post- Brexit economy, this has more to do with the whole defeminisation of fashion – clothes so outsized and anti- body-con, as to be pushing androgyny to its ultimate limit. And not just in the duvet coat department: see dresses, sleeves, shoulders, even the soles of boots. So what to buy? A puffa jacket, a slogan hoodie, tyre-tread boots.
PLAY WITH PRETTY
While we can only dream of wearing a Mcqueen silk duvet trimmed with ostrich feathers, let’s unpick what this gorgeous couture means: a celebration of outright femininity and glamour, an antidote to the fiercer side of fashion. Embrace romantic blouses, soft shell colours and prettify your hair.
ADD SOME HEAT
As it says on the tin, your new go-to colours encompass every shade from the spice rack. Whether you’re black, brunette, blonde or red-haired, there’s a hue for you.
At ten- SHUn!
The new twist on military? Coats get longer, brass buttons shinier, braiding golder, lapels stronger, pockets deeper and it’s a green light on all shades of olive. Invest in a trench, the coat of the season. Conquer shoulder-robing with a cape. And by all means, throw the entire look off with a pair of jazzy brocade heels.