Paris and Milan held their menswear fashion week back in June, and here are some trends to prepare for next season.
By Grace Choi
The Spring 2012 shows from Paris and Milan displayed a myriad of trends that are sure to provide clothes for a wide variety of audiences.
Tie-dye/gradients: Brands such as Bottoga Veneta and 3.1 Philip Lim are bringing tie-dye back. Colors such as blue, green, and yellow swirled together to provide accents on pants and shirts. Coupled together with solid overcoats, this trend is sure to make your clothes pop.
Navy and Mustard: Colorwise, the main contestants were navy and mustard—though neutrals and pastels also appeared. Acne, Dior, and Alexis Mabile were a few of many to use navy in their shows. All tones of mustard were seen from Alexander McQueen to Rag&Bone.
Color Accents/Color Blocking: Carrying over from Spring 2011, it seems color blocking is still in high demand. Marni, Umit Benan, and Balenciaga are only a few names that utilized this trend. Anywhere from shirts, jackets, to shorts—everything was sliced and diced into differing colors. For Z Zenga and Marc Jacobs, a focus was more on making color an accent, to draw the eye to a certain area. Bright bias binding on lapels or a maroon block on the bottom of a navy jacket are only a few examples of the minute color details on these garments.
Sheen & Shine: With sequins having made such a splash in previous seasons, it isn’t surprising to see that some houses have incorporated shine back into their lines. Metallic fabrics were seen at Gucci, Lanvin, and Mugler. Gucci and Lanvin mostly focused on putting shine on conventional business and sportswear, while Mugler created shiny leggings and cut-out tops.
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Graphics and Prints (vacation prints, tartans, checks, grids): Graphics will never die down—Dsquared and Christopher Kane can attest to that. Crazy colors with graphic prints inspired by anything from the army to the wires of a car walked down the runway. Prada, Moschino, and Kenzo had vacation prints, palm trees and flowers included. For brands such as Comme Des Garcons, Louis Vuitton, and Costume National, the check, tartan, and grid prints were prevalent.
Travel (vacation prints, safari, sportswear luxe): Travel seemed to have been the key inspiration this season as nearly every fashion house was creating some sort of travel luxe apparel. Brands such as Valentino and Moschino took us on a general vacation, while brands like Canali, Chistophe Lemaire, and Ann Demeulemeester took us to the desert, parts of Asia, or the Middle East. Burberry’s prints were ethnic inspired and Bally and Trussardi created attire for the traveling man, complete with travel bags and sandals. Calvin Klein and Alexander Wang mostly focused on the sportswear clothing, playing with the shape and details of the typical workout apparel.
Leather and Denim: Leather was everywhere this season, and used in quite unconventional ways. Raf Simons showcased leather shirts in vibrant colors. Neil Barret coupled leather with gabardine while John Richmond had quilting and cut-out details in his leather jackets. Meanwhile, denim was a focus for brands such as Piombo and Dolce and Gabbana. Over at D&G, silks and other fabrics were paired with denim waistbands. With navy being a trendy color these days, it isn’t surprising denim is “in.”
Baggy Bottoms (skirts): Move aside skinny jeans—baggy is back this season. Brands such as Jean Paul Gaultier and Yohji Yamamoto added flare and pleating to create fullness and flow to normally straight silhouettes. Not surprising then, was also the emergence of the man skirt. Givenchy and Rick Owens were the pioneers of this, though it is questionable whether the trend will catch on.
