spring/summer 2008 - trends

givenchy (resort), rag and bone, burberry, dkny

diane von furstenberg, bottega veneta, hermes, donna karan

tse, proenza schouler, behnaz serafpour, preen
OUT OF ARFRICA
one of the trends from the resort collections that found its way into the spring/summer shows is an obvious one. summer does evoke ideas of travel and vacations to far off places and the safari influenced looks first immortalized by yves saint laurent has not only proven to be stylish, but practical as well in an urban environment. although a lot of these looks are borrowed from the sport of hunting, i really doubt a well off woman will slug it out in the bush wearing a two thousand dollar hermes ensemble. that elephant givenchy t-shirt is pretty nuts though.



todd lynn, comme des garcons, jens laugesen, luella

martin margiela, jil sander, yohji yamamoto, house of holland

junya watanabe, ohne titel, yves saint laurent, marios schwab
FIX UP, LOOK SHARP
despite all the frills and hyper feminine looks so prevalent during the collections, its antithesis kept rearing its structured head. maybe as a response to all the volume and lightness of the past couple of years, designers are coming back to a more structured silhouette in the form of tailoring. from seasoned veterans like margiela and yamamoto, to a new blood of sartorialists such as todd lynn and ohne titel, a pimped out androgyny is about to kick some tent dresses ass. and thank god because quite frankly, that shit is boring.



malo, peter jensen, iceberg, givenchy

branquinho, nina ricci, wunderkind, vivienne westwood

paul smith, three as four, phi, rick owens
HAMMER TIME
first spotted during the men's collections a few months before, the indian inspired dhoti crotch was everywhere this season, ranging from pants to shorts. able to be manipulated into being slim and structured, to loose and drapey, and provide a new and fresh silhouette, designers tried their hand on the centuries old style to luxurious effects as seen on nina ricci and veronique branquinho. and don't worry, i have pants like this and trust me, it doesn't scream "stop, hammer time" and will make you do the running man.



balenciaga, anne klein, d&g, aquascutum

anna sui, john galliano, 6267, karen walker

dolce & gabbana, stella mccarney, ruffian, dries van noten
FLOWER POWER
there's a reason why some flowers are considered as perennials, for example, floral prints always sprout during the spring/summer collections. they're like the summer equiavalent of a scarf on the runways, basically, they're everywhere. but when someone like nicolas ghesquiere devotes a whole collection to blown up images of hydrangeas, pansies, and daffodils, well let's just say that h&m and top shop are gonna be carrying a lot of florals for next spring. hopefully larger size girls realize that all over floral prints isn't the most flattering, unless they want to look like a botanical garden.



karl lagerfeld, nathan jenden, roksanda ilincic, ann demeulemeester

aquascutum, stærk, narciso rodriguez, zero maria cornejo

rodarte, moschino, marc jacobs, maxmara
LAND OF THE RISING SUN
suprisingly, out of all the trends that popped up for spring/summer, the one that caught me off guard the most was the japanese influence. not the traditional kimono and obi, but the asymetry and deconstruction of vanguards rei kawakubo and yohji yamamoto. inspiring designers from both sides of the ponds, marc jacobs in new york and karl lagerfeld in paris, it is clear that even these two highly influential artists still pays homage to the japanese that still manages to shake the fashion establishment.



etro, costume national, benjamin cho, gucci

louis goldin, reyes, emilio pucci, salvatore ferragamo

jonathan saunders, marc x marc jacobs, marni, jil sander
BLOCK PARTY
much like floral prints, bold graphic colours pops up during the spring/summer collections, and maybe as an alternative to play with colours without succumbing to the floral trend, designers showed and alternative by using blocks of colour as an option. an obviously more universal trend that has the power to mold and give the illusion of different shapes, colour blocking surfaced everywhere to the obvious pucci prints and at marni where consuelo castiglioni has used this ingenious method throughout her career to new guards from london louis goldin and jonathan saunders, the latter perhaps, the one who is the most techinically gifted of the lot. now if only mariah carey can adapt this trend to her wardrobe, then maybe she can give my eyes and my stomach a rest.




photo: style.com