Rules to relax
WFH loungewear is going nowhere soon, but there are some easy new trends to style us into spring and summer. Stephanie Smith looks at SS22 highlights.
Fashion has had to lighten up and learn not to take itself so seriously (and its customers rather more seriously), after being taught a lesson or two, courtesy of the global pandemic. Designers and brands have come to understand that most of us do not want to return to trussed-up clothing and ridiculous footwear, not now and probably not ever. What we really want is the freedom, comfort and elegance that comes with dressing for ourselves and the way we live now, not following shortlived fads and feeling that we have to comply with anyone else’s idea of a dress code.
And so SS22 welcomes in a new age of relaxed rule-breaking and confidence. There are still trends, but they are simply pointers to shapes and shades, textures and tones – you can, and should, interpret them in any way you see fit.
In terms of colour, Pantone identified an SS22 palette of lighthearted, airy pastels and arresting brights, bringing together soft orchid purple, mint green, acid green and earthy brown from the London Fashion Week (LFW) catwalks, pointing out that they tie in with a new mood of simplicity and spontaneity and reflect a deep connection with nature and the continuing need for comfort and familiarity.
“Capturing this theme of complement and contrast, spring/summer 2022 colours for LFW inspire playful creativity and unconstrained expression that is full of life,” it says.
“Our use of colour is connected to the cultural mood,” says Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute. “We are looking for opportunities to do something completely different. Colours that celebrate our desire to break boundaries satisfy our fervent need for playful creativity and unconstrained visual expression as we enter into this new, uncertain time.”
So, let us welcome fashion as a solace, a mood-lifter and a comfort in more ways than one. Here are some highlights of trends for this coming season:
Deconstructed silhouettes
Burberry, which makes its iconic trench coats in Castleford, has remade these trusty all-season stalwarts in strong and striking silhouettes that experiment and play with volume. Using classic Burberry gabardine and textural linen cotton, on the runway they were seen cropped away at the back to reveal swimsuits with abstract