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Home , Derek Lam, Haider Ackermann, Marc Jacobs, Stefano Pilati

THE GROUP FOUNDATION PRESENTS

FALL / WINTER 2012

TREND OVERVIEW BY MARYLOU LUTHER NEW YORK • LONDON • • PARIS

Why, during these iffy times, do designers want us to dress like the 1 Percenters?

Why do so many of the new fall collections feature jewel- laden, fur-bearing, gold-gilded, paparazzi-rousing clothes?

Answer: It’s the economy, stupid. The economy in China, Brazil, Russia, Dubai and other outposts of abundance, where women actually want to look rich. They’ve got it and they want to flaunt it.

Serving these customers is, of course, essential to the future of five-figure designer clothes. And it becomes even more pertinent as more and more designers build stores in these enclaves of wealth and status.

LANVIN

For those who prefer a more discreet way of dressing, there is not only hope, there are options. In fact, there is a new sense of neck-to-toe coverup—one that borders on body armor. It’s the modern expression of protective coloration, identified by high necklines, long, tattoo-hiding sleeves and a circumspect hemline that registers just below the knees, sometimes a little shorter, sometimes longer. (Yes, minis and short are still offered, but they look dated—unless worn over pants.)

Said pants are definitely narrow, many with raised waistlines. Pants are also integral to defining a truly new look: A tri-level, three-piece suit that consists of jacket//pant or jacket/dress/pant. This new pant-involved trilogy is shown by , Dries Van Noten, Aquilano Rimondi, Jean Paul Gaultier, Hussein Chalayan, Tess Giberson, Rag & Bone, and especially by Chanel, where takes the look into night, posing above-the-ankle evening dresses CALVIN-KLEIN over cropped, ankle-hovering pants. PANT-EMONIUM. Patterned pants, printed pants, leather pants—all make the solid color pant a less than solid bet for the new season. In this arena, wearing fabrics like brocades, lamés, velvets, laces and iridescent silks—materials once thought of as evening-only—looks especially directional, as do jeweled and sequined pants.

Pantsuits are flourishing again, from allover prints to those in color tonalities and those in one color but two different fabrics, as in ’s distinguished collection. For women with black pantsuits in their closet, the new way to wear them is to separate them, pairing a black jacket with a patterned pant, for example, or black pants with a printed jacket.

ROCHAS

COATS. Of all the items in a woman’s wardrobe, coats may be the one MUST buy to remain fashion-worthy. Anything old looks old. Patterned coats. Printed coats. Shapely coats. Brocade coats. They’re new and they’re original. Standouts are Jacobs’ coats in sequined fake fur and tinseled tweed, Nicolas Guesquière’s oversized toppers with contrast lapels for Balenciaga and ’s jewel-streamed maxis.

COLOR. As Ackermann demonstrated so brilliantly, color tonalities are the autumn leaves that drift by the window. Color blocking continues as part of the inset/intarsia/inlay coali- tions ahead. Whites are back for the winter. Black stays in the picture. Oxblood and teal resonate. And jewel colors radiate. HAIDER ACKERMANN Kudos again to Sander’s pales, and to for a magnificent farewell collection. BALENCIAGA

2 PRINTS. Two designers, Van Noten and Mary Katrantzou, proved their print mastery again in this season of prints.

Van Noten worked with the Victoria and Albert Museum to take images of historic Chinese garments via digital photography. He then abstracted the prints, pre-cutting them to use in a graphic way. One part of a print might appear on the thighs of pants, another as the right half of a skirt, another placed almost brooch-like on a simple wool jacket. None was used as an allover print.

For Katrantzou, tthe print message was the message – or message senders – as in telephone keys, typewriters, pencils and clocks, all looking as believable as your favorite floral.

DRIES VAN NOTEN

LEATHER. In a season remarkable for its leathers, both as a total garment and as a component partner with fur or fabric, the most artful use is by , whose short leather jackets with shapely lapels are truly works of art. In other collections, colored leathers, glossy leathers, patents and mixed media collages are noteworthy. Thakoon’s ruched leathers, ’s luminous lambskins, Alexander Wang’s waxed suedes, Stefano Pilati’s lacquered leathers for Yves Saint Laurent, ’s woven leathers, Riccardo Tisci’s bustle-back leathers for , Diane Von Furstenberg’s patents and ’s embroidered leathers are all praise-worthy. RODARTE KNITS. The sweater girls back into fashion, cabling its message on runways from New York to Europe. Intarsias pattern the body at Chanel. Jacquards rule at Rochas. Missoni’s magic knitworks astound. Victoria Bartlett’s future-probing hand knits for VPL are works of art. And Yeohlee’s geometry lesson includes body-friendly folds, drapes, circles and squares. YEOHLEE

3 FUR. Good ole let-out mink is back, even as the traditional stole at Nina Ricci, where designer Peter Copping places them not shrugging the shoulders, but dangling down the back in a shoulder-to-shoulder loop. Goat, fox and coyote are the favorite long hairs, and sheared mink, nutria and beaver are important as insets with leather or fabric.

Fur sleeves on non-fur jackets and coats are also part of the mixed media looks ahead. Best of show: Chado Ralph Rucci’s arm-adillo of chinchilla on a silk velvet coat.

MARC JACOBS

JEWELING. From Prada’s big brooches and pant cuffs to Lesage’s glittering eyebrow pads at Chanel, the shoes at Prada and Lanvin, the boots at Versace and the clutch and cuff at Chanel, the ornament for adornment is a gem. Don O’Neill’s goddess dresses for Theia are standing-ovation- worthy, as his audience proved. One gown, for example, featured burnt sequins, crumpled pearls and armored embroideries.

Sarah Burton’s much-laud- ed collection for Alexander McQueen showcased one gown in tiers of tulle sprin- kled with embroideries of dandelions and flared with 80 godets. PRADA

BRADLEY SCOTT

4 MANNING UP. In this time of manlashes, manscara and mantyhose, when men are being influenced by women, fashion heralds the man’s influence in women’s wear, espe- cially his broad shouldered jackets, oversized overcoats, cut- aways and tuxedos. ’s dandy and Lauren’s salute to the titled men of ”Downton Abbey“ lead the way in the U.S. In London, Paul Smith’s impeccably tailored blazers and gen- erous coats spoke –and bespoke—to the him-for-her trend. In Milan, picked up the “Albert Nobbs” vibe and MaxMara brought pinstripes from his closet to hers. Isabel Marant’s cowboys, Hermès’ gauchos and the tuxedo looks at Balmain, Stella McCartney, Maison Martin Margiela and Vionnet all lent proof that Saint Laurent’s idea of tuxedos for her is still relevant 46 years later, most poignantly at YSL, where Stefano Pilati’s le smokings for his last collection at YSL, continued to prove that there’s nothing sexier than a woman MAXMARA in a man’s tuxedo. In fact, new tuxedos both at home and abroad might very well be the sexiest looks of the season—a season shy on sex and sensuality.

We wanted to include here because he told his London audience that his women customers had been asking him to deliver men’s tailoring, but the press was not allowed to photograph the collection of 25 looks—looks generally described as sexy Bond girl. You know: Ford, Tom Ford.

MILITARY/UTILITY/ EQUESTRIAN. There’s nothing limited to the barracks or the battlefield in fashion’s new salute to the armed forces, but epaulets are “every- where,” flight jackets take off, double-breasted brass- buttoned jackets look DEREK LAM spiffy, fatigues are uniformly easy, and pea coats leave the navy to see the world.

Equestrian looks are definitely in the fashion hunt, most notably at Lauren, where jodhpurs and riding jackets leave the JOANNA MASTROIANNI saddle for the street.

5 PLAID. Queen Elizabeth II’s jubilee year might well have prompted fashion’s celebration of plaid, especially her two favorite tartans, the Balmoral and the Royal Stuart. From glen to glen, the pipes are calling designers like , Lauren, Jacobs, Tory Burch, Rachel Roy, , Douglas Hannant, Clare Waight Keller of Chloé, and , where models were dressed to kilt.

FABRICS. Alongside traditional fabrics, jacquards and chunky knits are rejuvenated, and engineered fabrics are truly original, as in Lanvin’s inside-out brocades treated with rubber, and the many inside-out shearlings. The night-for-day brocades, velvets, satins and laces also come out at night, as do the shiny glacés. And gold, gold, gold, from lamés to brocades.

RALPH LAUREN

ACCESSORIES. Jewelry is so much a part of the opulent side of fashion—jeweled clothes, jeweled hats, jeweled shoes, jeweled bags--they may well become the most important accessories of the season. Like bags, they are big and bold. Among the most exciting are the bold chokers at Lauren and Gurung, the statement necklaces at , Dolce & Gabbana and Lanvin and the brooches at Lauren and Chanel. Knitted stoles steal the scene (well, almost) at Jacobs and Missoni. ’ hats definitely do steal the scene at Jacobs, and ’s caps and cloches for Lauren echo the “Downton Abbey” theme. So do Karan’s top hats. Gloves are fingered for success, the longer and the more color- ALEXANDER WANG ful or decorative the better.

Raise the belt, change the look—that’s the Missoni mantra, and a message worth repeating. Bags are big, some with bowler and dome shapes, others descended from the doctor. Clutches continue, notably in east-west shapes, many of them jeweled or media-mixed.

MICHAEL KORS

6 His shoes go to Her feet. The oxfords, aka lace-ups or brogues, at Derek Lam, the pilgrims at Jacobs and the platformed oxfords at Prada are tread-worthy examples. The bootie, a little shorter this season, is major. So is the riding boot. Single-sole pumps continue, pointy toes and all. Alligator and snake still have fashion bite, and ostrich has legs.

CREATURES OF THE WIND

BEST BETS:

Leather • Jeweling • Gold • Reflective • Oversized

Equestrian • Covered Up • Mannish . Coat • Color • Prints

Mixed Media • Night for Day • Knits • Bags

Footwear: Bootie • Evening Shoe • Military

The Fashion Group Foundation’s Trend Overview has been generously underwritten by

A complete version of the FGI trend presentation is available on DVD and DVD-data. Please contact The Fashion Group to purchase: telephone: 212.302.5511 fax: 212.302.5533

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