As it would appear that spring/ and what we hope is summer is finally here
.... (sort of - give or take a few april showers)...
I figured it would be a grand idea to have a look at what the catwalks of fashion week supplied us with for the new season.
This spring/summer the woman is...
... empowered, goddess-like and ready for anything.
The models became these women, rarely theatrically made up...
... the kind of woman that others aspire to be:
confident
poised
and oozing seductive style.
Natural fabrics are back with a vengeance with many designers such as Alexander Wang, Donna Karan, Matthew Williamson and even Prada, using materials such as canvas, linen and pure cotton.
Alexander Wang's collection was noticeably clean this season, with little or no black featuring in the majority of the clothes.
Using natural materials and raw edges, he created a construction theme made up of overalls and coverall straps on the back of smock-like dresses.
The pieces had little or no colour except for injections of pastel foil made to represent duct tape.
At Donna Karan, fabrics appeared to have been contoured by the wind, but cut into very urban shapes. Once again there was no artificial material, instead stretch linens were uses; designs reverted back to nature with sandy tones and all natural fibres.
Raw edges were seen everywhere including the Alexander McQueen show. Designer Sarah Burton stayed loyal to the late designer's classic silhouettes, but gave them a softer, more feminine feel.
Slashing the shoulders and leaving the edges raw relaxed the architectural shoulders that are and have been so prominent on McQueen's runway.
It appears that sheer clothing is here to stay for the long run, with many designers sending feminine and delicate creations down the runway.
The story like feel of an Alexander McQueen show was still there, however with a woman's touch.
Nature has taken the woman back, and Sarah Burton's use of sheer fabrics with majestic and ethereal print gave some of the clothes a more feminine touch...
... it took away the harshness of the silhouette.
Jil Sander Designer Raf Simons' use of confident colour, such as the bold violet or black vertical stripes on a creamy sheer t-shirt was striking when combined with a block coloured or softer, duksy pink, full-length skirt with contrasting horizontal stripes.
Inspiration for S/S 2011 has come from all areas of artistic creation and designs, many key trends have sprung up from key eras such as the 1920's, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s...
... with designers like Prada, Derek Lam and Marc Jacobs making key references to the glamorous Josephine Baker and a young Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver.
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| Josephine Baker |
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| Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver (1976) |
For Miuccia Prada's collection, ideas exuded from everywhere. Her prints were evocative of the theatrically sexy costumes worn by Josephine Baker in the 1920s and yet still held the essence of baroque design.
The fact is clear...
... Prada easily combines multiple trends that have been seen on the runways and in doing so, she created her own unique trend:
a combination of sparse minimalism and the excesses of the baroque.
Marc Jacobs' joyously colourful exhibition of a scorching summer epitomized the 1970s, which are officially back!
The clothes signified the return of the beautiful woman, printed silks were sheer and sexy; whilst maxi-dresses and jumpsuits were off the shoulder with slits up the sides...
... revealing as much leg as possible.
Dolce and Gabbana's almost completely white collection epitomized the lace trend that will still be so popular this spring. The theme of a bride deconstructing her wedding gifts of lace curtains and table cloths only to create an entirely new wardrobe from them resulted in pure, innocent and almost virginal clothes.
The dresses and playsuits, which were cut from actual furnishing fabrics, were light and delicate just as lace should be and were described as "orgasmic in white" against the black vixen like corsets and clothing.
Pure in the day and then released at night.
Other designers used lace to great effect as well, such as Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen whose use of brocade and lace were exquisite in depicting women being steadily reclaimed by nature.
While Miu Miu managed to feature both neon colours and lace work, by using them as delicate graphic details around the neckline; Christopher Kane took the look too far with his neon lace that appeared to be plasticized. In fact the clothes were created from perforated leather, which was then coated with vinyl...
... but really, who wants to look like "Princess Magaret on acid" as Kane's sister Tammy so perfectly described it.
Bright colours were a key feature at many of the runway shows this season with labels such as Prada, Jil Sander, Chris Benz and Jonathan Saunders experimenting with a rainbow of brights. Miuccia Prada used characteristically bold prints that ranged from clean-cut stripes to flamboyantly bright rococo motifs.
While the clothes were created from plain cotton reminiscent of hospital scrubs, the loud baroque prints were rich in colour and line.
Meanwhile, Chris Benz took us back to the 1960s with his deep and joyfully vintage colours, belts were tied with tassels and coral colours ranged from the very bright to almost invisibly pastel.
Jil Sander's "Major skirts and minor tops" took minimalism to the next level with the haute couture skirts being sewn to pure white t-shirts. The colours were intense; with multiple jackets being layered over one another (amazingly managing to create not too bulky a silhouette) each a different colour...
... red plus pink and finally a warm yellow.
Stripes were created not only with print and weave, but also with the layering of different garments and colours on top of one another.
It was as Raf Simons said "a mille-feuille of colour".
For more images and details on this seasons looks check out style.com
Images courtesy of Style.com
