Fashion Week in Paris concluded another fabulous Fashion Month and brought forward a whole new load of creative and interesting trends for us to dig our teeth in to. I’m very excited to be exploring the trends that have arisen from my favourite fashion capital.
CLASHING PATTERNS
Clashing patterns was a trend used widely across the Parisian catwalks, on dresses to suits. It was first seen in Ottolinger‘s collection which featured an amalgamation of lots of different quirky patterns fitted into one piece; the alteration of colourways within one pattern and the use of a consistent colour scheme somehow makes these patterns work well together. Dries Van Noten also used clashing patterns in their collection with this gorgeous piece, tied together with electric blue detailing. The deliberate space left between the different patterns touching allows the eye to separate them and not comprehend how much they truly clash, which ultimately makes this piece successful. Christian Wijnants began his collection with a series of pieces featuring clashing colours, which then develop, as time goes on, into this clashing floral pattern piece; although this piece shouldn’t work it somehow does! I’m excited to see how this trend plays out next season and whether this clashing pattern craze becomes a true testament of style or purely a fashion disaster.
CLASHING PRIMARY AND SECONDARY COLOURS
As well as clashing patterns designers also chose to use clashing colours within their work; with a particular focus on the primary and secondary colours. The most common colours of choice were yellow, green and blue, and this combination was seen in numerous different collections, ranging from gradients of the different hues to block colours. Yellow, green and blue are used in this Kenzo piece and layered on top of one another to almost force them to blend; the use of yellow and blue which are opposing primary colours with green, which connects them both, forces them to work in conjunction with one another. This trio of colours was also seen in Olivier Theyskens‘ collection, where it was used for a gradient effect; the gradual blend of the gradient shows just how similar these colours really are and they can complement one another. The full spectrum of primary colours was used by Elie Saab in this piece, which mirrors collections we saw at London Fashion Week, where the three primary colours had a very large presence.
GRADIENTS
As seen in the clashing colour trend gradients have made a return to high fashion this season; one example of this is the gradual gradient used in this Anrealage dress. The gentle transition from a light grey-toned purple to a deep indigo colour shows how gradients can really work using different shades of just one colour; I love the soft purple used throughout the collection and I think it looks so feminine. The sunset coloured transitional gradient on these Each X Other satin trousers is simply beautiful; it is such a gradual shift in colour that it is almost unnoticeable at first, making it a simple, yet very effective, design feature. This soft and pretty colour scheme was also seen in Poiret‘s collection, so fingers crossed we see it on the high street next Spring! Olivier Theyskens also had an additonal gradient piece in his collection, as well as the yellow one above, which featured darker colours on a suit. This is a very, very slow gradient, with the colour change only really occurring just at the cuff of the jacket.
ANIMAL PRINT
Animal print has been a major trend this season and it is clear, from the way we’ve seen it throughout Fashion Month, that it isn’t going away just yet. This tiger print waistcoat in the Giambattista Valli collection is an excellent example of how to wear this trend into the springtime as things start to warm up again; also the combination of it with a simple white outfit really highlights the boldness of this piece. This Rochas piece takes the animal print to the extreme with a fully animal print coat, bag and shoes (so basically most of Instagram at the moment…); this piece truly proves there is no way to wear too much animal print! Leonard Paris uses the animal print trend in a much more muted way; although it still covers the entirety of the piece it is a much smaller piece in more toned down colours so works in a much more subtle way.
DARK FLORALS
Florals are a very common Spring trend, but dark florals are not typically seen. The stereotypical use of the floral trend is light coloured floral dresses, not the dark, grungy florals we’ve been seeing on the catwalk as of late. The first example of this is this floral piece from Andrew GN‘s collection, although the flowers themselves are quite light and summery the black background immediately darkens the pattern and moves it to a much grungier tone. Elie Saab uses primary colour flowers on a black background to create this dark floral piece; the bright primary colours prevent the piece from becoming too wintery and add a pop of colour to the darkness. Elie Saab uses this combination of colours a lot throughout this collection and it would come as no surprise if we see this colour set hit our stores next Spring. This Rahul Mishra dress combines plenty of floral designs within one piece, all in a dark colour palette; I like the use of florals within this piece and how the pattern has been placed to accentuate parts of the design.
PLAIDS AND GINGHAM
Plaids and gingham were a big trend in Paris, as was their fundamental grid like structure. This fully plaid piece from Afterhomework almost resembles graph paper in its pattern and although at first I thought this entirely plaid piece seemed almost boring I’ve now decided that its simplicity is actually the key to making it work. This sunset colour toned gingham piece combines two plaid pieces into one outfit; this Altuzarra piece is effective as the consistent colour scheme blends all the different plaids together to create one harmonious summery outfit. Ottolinger used a more conventional gingham within their rather unconventional work, suggesting that traditional gingham prints may make a come back next season. I, for one, am all for this trend as I think gingham can look so vintage and classy used in the right way.
LEATHER
Leather, and leather look, material has made a major comeback this Fashion Month and I’m sure that it will be all over the high street over the next few months. Alexander McQueen used leather throughout their collection, from denim jackets to denim belt detailing, it was a clear focus for this fashion house. This leather floor length trench coat from Sonia Rykiel‘s collection shows yet another interpretation of the leather jacket look. The slightly ruffled train on this leather jacket detracts from the harshness of the material and creates a much more feminine vibe than you’d expect. As well as the traditional black leather Miu Miu also used brown leather; I like the look of brown leather as it is often not as bold as black leather so is easier to wear within a muted, girly wardrobe.
SHEER MATERIAL
Yet again, sheer material was a trend at Fashion Week; this has become arguably the biggest trend of this Fashion Month. This beautiful blush pink layered piece combining different layers of sheer material works beautifully within this trend as a soft, feminine and glamorous piece. This whole trend has a very ethereal edge to it and this Poiret dress definitely captures that. This stunning Valentin Yudashkin gown uses the sheer material trend to create a whimsical and romantic red piece; this is absolutely gorgeous and I’ve fallen in love with the delicate floral and ruffling details. Layering sheer material over other pieces, as Rahul Mishra has here, is another way to incorporate the sheer material trend into your wardrobe; this delicate floral piece is one way to do that but the look can also be accomplished using a simple sheer silk blouse.
That concludes the trends that I noticed time and time again throughout Milan Fashion Week. I’m very excited about some of the very feminine pieces that we’ve seen during this fashion week and I think this is a very interesting set of trends that will be seen next season.
MY FAVOURITE LOOKS
That brings an end to my Fashion Week summaries, but it’s not quite the end of my Fashion Week Series. Keep your eyes peeled for my post fashion week wishlist!
Love Chloe x
