Trend Forecast // SS 2013

DENIM

Keeping with the emerging 90's trend from the end of last season, denim featured in most designers' collections; Ashish was a great example of this with models sporting top knot hair with scrunchies, slouchy denim jackets and white Reebok trainers.  Miu Miu, Balmain and APC in Paris continued the Spring 2012 fifties trend by defining the waistline on skirts, jeans and playsuits.  Instead of drastically changing the cut of the garment, designers like Margaret Howell and Miu Miu used darker shades of denim to create a bold silhouette.

MESH

Mesh continued to influence Spring/Summer 2013 collections with designers experimenting with the size and shape of the holes.  While Chloe paired crisp white overlarge mesh with sheer chiffons, Proenza Schouler clashed a white perforated leather tee with a khaki green snakeskin skirt.  In New York, mesh was used in it’s simplest form to create nineties grunge; Edun and Zero + Maria Cornejo emphasised this look with an earthy green and black palette.

CITRUS BRIGHTS:  YELLOW & GREEN

After soft pastels took hold across designer and high street clothing in Spring/Summer 2012, citrus brights will make a welcome return into wardrobes longing for a splash of vivid colour.  While they played it safe in Milan at Gucci, Trussardi and Etro with blocks of muted yellow, Marc Jacobs made Louis Vuitton became sharply modern with an acidic version of their renowned Damier check.  Instead of making bright colour the key design feature, Topshop used a yellow suit to frame and enhance an otherwise basic stripey top.

Apple green shades were used in blocks on oversized clothing at Proenza Schouler and Stella McCartney but designers J JS Lee and Sportmax applied the colour sparingly so that other garments within their outfits remained distinctive.  Interestingly, many designers chose to pair green with simple whites and greys to make clean sharp contrasts.  Louis Vuitton's vivid green and white colour clash dresses are a great example of this; both designs have a refreshing clarity that is long overdue in Spring/Summer collections.

CHECK

Check had a renaissance in Spring/Summer 2013 collections as designers played with texture, colour and contrast to update the traditional pattern.  Marni and Cacharel combined check with another S/S trend of vivid colour while Hermes and Jill Stuart muted the pattern so that their outfit's cut and surface texture would be the key features.  Maxmara daringly clashed leopard print with check; by using their signature palette of brown and camel, they made the contrast work as each print subtly blended into the other.

ORIENTAL

Dries Van Noten had a déjà vu moment in Paris with an oriental inspired collection that echoed decorative prints and relaxed garment shapes from last season.  Cacharel and Erdem worked with sheer fabrics and acidic colours to create breezy dresses with a colourful kick.  In Milan, Emilio Pucci and Etro used black to frame details on their clothing; Pucci embellished a kimono cape with opulent gold embroidery while Etro graphically framed a floral print by edging the neckline and sleeves in black.