Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Trend Watch | Monochrome Head-to-Toe

As a blog focused largely on knitwear, I may propose a trend that really only we knit-centric people notice.  A micro-trend if you will which, conveniently satisfies my need to organize and filter through all a season's fashion moments to present you with some solidly good sweaters.

Non-fashion friends always ask me how it is that trends emerge.  Is there a trend-whisperer who selflessly anoints designers like Miuccia Prada and Phoebe Philo our fashion prophets?  Well, there are men and women behind the men and women who, like bees spreading pollen from flower to flower, sprinkle ideas around the industry.  It's not a difficult leap to make when you realize that big deal stylists become big deal stylists because they work with more than one brand.  Or, how models who bounce from one casting call to another, adorned in a mix of odd freebies and offline samples, influence the subconscious of a designer whose brain is built to detect frequencies unbeknownst to most.  

The macro trends that emerge for the consumer-at-large are made globally obvious by the likes of Zara and H&M but also in the kinds of smaller, tasteful brands consumers and retailers rely on to both ring the register and wear.  In the fast pace of retail these days it seems like a consumer can instantly scratch her itch to buy something new the moment the curtain comes down but really the seeds of that trend have been planted by those prophets a season or two ahead of Zara's rollout.

I can't say that the pale grey, mock neck, almost tunic length sweater over matching skirt is a verifiable movement but, it's interesting how variations on the theme emerged at three major fashion powerhouses.  Removed from the context of each designer's vision, it's a wearable look and I can see it getting a small acknowledgment of gratitude from brands like Ann Taylor and Theory alike.

Sorry Demna, I know that's probably not what you wanted to hear....

Balenciaga Fall 2016
Hermes Fall 2016
Stella McCartney Fall 2016



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