With runways so highly saturated in pleasing clothes, debut designer collections and an A-list FROW to rival all others, Paris Fashion Week has been more than fantastic. One thing that we have noticed during the course of the past month's autumnw/winter 2014 presentations is that the fashion biz appears to have been split into polar opposites – with one half championing all that is classic, investable, timeless and the other creating more instantly covetable, unadulterated fashion moments, complete with novelty items and recognisable prints, fabrics, motifs and accessories.
Either way, imaginations have run wild - from the wardrobe items themselves to the catwalk sets they are seen on. Karl Lagerfeld invited his ticket holders to the chicest supermarket know to man and even managed to make the classic Chanel chain handbags morph into 'humble' metal shopping baskets so convincingly that no mortal could doubt for a second that they’d be flying off the shelves in six months’ time. For a more discerning dresser relaxed tailoring prevailed, as did friendly mid heels and a new, easy mod mood surfaced at, amongst others, Louis Vuitton under Nicolas Ghesquiere’s first collection.
With that all in mind, you could say we’ve finally reached a kind of equilibrium – somewhere in between the sensible camel coats and the crazy clutch bags. Modern ladies surely want a bit of both, right? So here are the five trends that can be pared back, should you want to, or explored to their very maximum…
1. WINTER GAMES:
L-R: Kenzo, Stella McCartney, Miu Miu, Moncler Gamme Rouge [Catwalking]
2. DRAMATIC BLACKS:*
L-R: Chanel, Vivienne Westwood Gold Label, Junya Watanabe, Lanvin, Comme des Garcon [Catwalking]
3. MOD GIRLS:
L-R: Carven, Saint Laurent, Valentino, Louis Vuitton [Catwalking]
4. HEAD-TO-TOE KNIT:
L-R: Celine, Kenzo, Stella McCartney, Chanel [Catwalking]
5.* MAN-UP:
*L-R: Haider Ackermann, Dior, Hermes, Isabel Marant [Catwalking]