Fashion Week SS2020

So what on earth is fashion week? In February and March and then again in August and September the big fashion capitals of the world such as New York, Milan and London host a series of fashion shows where the designs for the next season are put on display. I remember as a teenager and twenty something I would look at the photos in the fashion lift out in the Mercury news paper and think that what people were wearing on the catwalk was pretty separate from real life. But from all the dramatic eye catching ensembles trends emerge and are picked up in greater or lesser degrees. Some of them make it through to retail and then we the consumer pick some of them up and incorporate them into our wardrobes.

In some countries and cultures the take up of new trends is fast and fairly complete, with wearers catching the designer’s vision and making it their look. I think for example of my sister in law who grew up in Japan. She goes back to Japan for a few months most years and while she is there she picks up a part time job just so she has throw away money to spend on the fast changing fashion. She says that the styles are changing all the time in Japan and everyone keeps up.

In some places or in some groups, following the latest trends is not a big concern of many people. They may follow what I call the meta trends, or what some personal stylists refer to as the zeitgeist. They do not make a deliberate effort to discover what new trends will be, but the more often they see them the more accustomed to them they become and eventually they end up buying them at retail because these styles now seem normal. An obvious example of this is pants. Skinny jeans have been a fashion norm for years now, but before them it was low slung boot cuts. When the skinnies reappeared they were daring and a bit 80s. Then we saw how they could be comfortably and flatteringly styled with a loose drapey tunic top or longer jumper and we were sold. Many people now refuse to give up their skinnies, even though they are now considered a classic, rather than the most fashionable cut. Another example of this is in pant lengths. With boot cuts it was considered ‘right’ to have your hems end in the arch of your foot. With skinnies the ankle cut became popular and has made its way across all kinds of slim fit pants, both for work and leisure.

Some times people follow sub trends. They are different, often deliberately so, from the meta trends. So while skinny jeans and leggings are a pant meta trend, denim harem pants are more of a sub trend, although becoming more popular. Often sub trends are used to underscore a person’s lack of interest in the mainstream fashion, and sometimes politics. Like the meta trends these subtrends often start on a run way.

The fashion weeks are also the scene of a lot of street style. Many different fashion personalities attend the show and they dress up, making their own fashion statements. It is true that the rise of internet has led to the proliferation of many different fashion personalities whose street style has profoundly affected what we as consumers think of as fashionable. There are bloggers, Instagram influencers and pop culture celebrities, such as the Kardashians whose fashion choices are widely publicised and who make them look good enough that we all want to copy them. For example, people watch what Megan Markle wears, hunt it or close replicas out and then buy them. If a celebrity’s outfit is popular and identifiable it will often sell out within days. The same can happen with outfits from television shows. Media can profoundly influence fashion sales (which is why the role of ‘influencer’ is a real thing).

Fashion shows have some nice trends and inspiration and can be an interesting forecast of what fashion we might all be wearing in the next 1-3 years! I have found one of the best ways to see what retail has taken up from the shows and will be presenting us with is to look at kmart. It manufactures clothes quickly and cheaply and moves a lot of stock. It keeps customer interest largely through giving new offerings, and there are quite a few times that I have seen what was presented at the fashion shows appear first in kmart, either as new cuts or colours. That being said the quality is not always excellent and the clothes are not always a flattering cut because they are not intending them to be forever items in your wardrobe. They are hoping that you will wear them for a month and then come back for more. But the buyers at Kmart have a pretty good eye for the more wearable trends from the runways and how to style them.

We have just had a few fashion weeks in Europe and New York. Some dominant trends were monochromatic all black looks, a la the nineties (wait I hear you say ‘was all black ever not a thing?”) So all you all black lovers will be happy.
Outfits featuring lots of neon. (for those who don’t like all black I guess).

Jeans with trendy cuts, such as waist detailing, baggy legs with tapered hems, tuxedo striping etc. In general the trendy jeans silhouettes are wider, sometimes longer, and have a higher waist. But of course your skinnies can still be beautifully styled.

These were the northern hemisphere’s spring and summer shows, so there was crochet, and light weight suiting, including long shorts (knee length) incorporated into linen suits.

So have a look at the links I have put in, or google it yourself and see what you find. I liked the bright colours, the amazing earrings, not so much the crochet, and I love trendy denim, it makes my outfits feel fresh again!
When looking at the shows, I find you do have to ignore the super skinniness of many of the models, and their unhappy looking faces! If you just look at the clothes it can be interesting.