Thursday, September 29, 2011

Trends and Thoughts on Spring Ready to Wear 2012


I've always had an appreciation for the sequential composition of the international fashion weeks which, appear periodically to show the world what hundreds of thousands of dedicated designers, artists, seamstresses have come up with in six months.  I like that New York's Mercedes Benz Fashion Week comes first in the presentations of the really big fashion centers of the world.  It starts it with a bang and reminds everyone in the world that it is indeed fashion week.  Following them are London and Milan, both absolutely unique and fantastic in their own ways.  They feature some of the biggest names in the industry from Burberry Prorsum to Georio Armani and all the while, the spectators know that the best is only yet to come.  Paris, the undisputed fashion capital of the world is the last of the giants.  Anyone who's anyone in the industry is in Paris at this point.  It's like, maybe you can only get away from your fancy job in LA for one week so you have to choose which of the heavyweights to attend.  Paris is always the one.  Nothing beats Parisian fashion and everyone knows it.
     This season thus far has had significantly less drama than those of the recent past.  No major deaths this season or firings of highly respected and then disgraced fashion icons.  Just beautiful clothes reflecting a few major trends that seem to be dominating the runways on an international scale.


Back to Basics
Women these days in North America find themselves in a peculiar setting in which economic times are hard, budgeting is key and frivolity is limited.  These major designers have identified this key aspect in the way women are dressing themselves and have both figuratively and literally weaved it into their collections.  One identifiable aspect of this trend is the use of knitting and crocheting, an ancient handy craft which, until recently, has been seen as something only your grandmother spent her time doing.  Thanks to the creative, resourceful new generation of young twenty-somethings, it's actually become all the rage.
Examples of this trend can be seen throughout the collections of Burberry Prorsum, Prada and in Vivienne Westwood's Red Label.

Defining Ostentation 
On the opposing end of the above theory, is the overly decorative and highly luxurious clothes being produced mainly in Italy.  These two trends usually coincide as a result of two types of reactions to the same situation.  Some women want to get back to hand crafted, earth friendly clothing, while others want to prove that the state of the economy and the world itself could not touch their high social standing and indeed, their pocket books.  Why not wear a dress completely covered in jewels or strips of gold like in the Dolce and Gabbana or Roberto Cavalli shows?  That'll show 'em how fancy we are.


Classic Femininity vs. Androgyny
Every season has its own version of this dichotomy of clothing styles which, occur throughout every collection in some form or another.  After Alexander McQueen brought back the big pointy shoulders for women, the power suit look has come back and women are now in some cases wearing clothes that were specifically designed and cut for men.  On the antithesis is the typical Christian Dior Woman, hourglass shape which is still quite prominent across the fashion board.  Flared skirt, fitted dresses with over-sized prints and feminine shoulder and necklines, the likes of which could be found in Betty Draper's closet, are still quite present and relevant.

Overall, it's obvious that duality of style, tone and overall concepts in fashion are the real theme this season.
By this point, Paris Fashion Week is underway and the collections are coming out every day this week.  Once they're all done (and I've settled in my new fab apartment!!) I'll be posting a summary of the most influential Paris shows and my thoughts on the overall season.

Thanks for reading!!



     

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Moving Along...

I just sat down here with this laptop to scribble out an update blog about Petey the Troll Apparel and my solo work as a costume maker/ wedding stylist / tortured, over-worked-under-paid seamstress.  When I logged into the blog site I use, it looked completely different than the last time I posted something.  New features, new design and the stats of all of my previous blog posts right there on the front page.  Genius.  So after I get over the initial "shit, it must have been a while since I posed anything if the entire interface is completely different" shock... and then take a look and the stats for my last post with this particular blog.  I was ashamed and sad to realize that my last post was almost two months ago. :( 
     I have several excuses, most of which have to do with work and searching endlessly for the perfect apartment to fit myself, my boyfriend, Meaghan, and our three unruly, yet lovable cats.  Not to mention an industrial sewing machine, a closet full of fabric and an unfortunate amount of shoes between the three of us sad fashion victims.  The search has not been easy and has admittedly taken up the majority of my time over the past few weeks.   
     Additionally, I've spent almost the entire summer working on dress commissions from a variety of clients (some absolutely delightful, others...not so much...) which I've found less than likable and have decided to stop doing altogether.  I have one remaining client to whom I promised bridesmaid dresses a while ago... so I'm doing this one last project, but will no longer be taking dress commissions hence forth, unless it is a personal favor for a friend or another exception as such. 
    What I've decided to do instead is look deeply into the study of the creation, construction and design of jackets and coats.  Over the next couple of months (among a plethora of fashion show review posts ;) I will start writing more often about the goings on with Petey the Troll Apparel as we crawl out of our woes and start working again.  Specifically, I'm going to start blogging about the history of some styles of jackets and coats as we know them today, and discuss my thoughts about jacket design in both mens and womensware in fashion.  I'm pretty excited. :)


So there it is, my apology and my update all in one go, hoping desperately that you'll still read what I have to say, 
Yours always, 


Vanessa Petey Hughes