Bespoke (Vol. 3)

bespoke Milan Milan

Volume 3

Spring/Summer 2015 Paris Paris

New York New York

Whitney hipwell

Ankita patel

Australia Australia

Tokyo Tokyo

Christine DeNicola

“Fashion is the armor

to survive the reality

of everyday life.�

-Bill cunningham-

contents

Milan New York Paris Australia Tokyo

Milan

not so wallflower Florals for spring is nothing new, but designers in Milan gave the idea a contemporary twist. Dolce and Gabbana, Antonio Marras, Simone Rocha, I’m Isola Marras and Bluemarine did florals in a very big way. Each designer showed looks with bold florals.

groovy The 70’s dominated the runways in Milan with suede, leather, embroidery and fringing.

Designers showed 70’s inspired looks from tie-dyes to bell-bottoms. Etro’s collection had a hippie feel, with light billowing fabrics for maxi dresses and intricate embroideries. Gucci’s patchwork fur vests screamed 70’s. We saw tie-dye dresses and flared pantsuits paired with crochet tanks at Pucci. Milan designers took us on a trip back to the 70’s on the Spring 2015 runways.

Earn your stripes In Milan we saw a variety of striped looks going down the runways.

Emporio Armani showed a variety of striping throughout his collection and did stripes in a big way with bold thick striping on suits. Antonio Marras and Dolce and Gabbana paired their bright stripe prints with florals. Philip Plein joined in the stripe trend with a crinolined party dress in bold black and white stripes.

Prints & patterns From florals to geometric shapes, Milan catwalks were covered in a wide variety of prints. Stella Jean drew inspiration from her roots with Haitian landscapes and African prints in the brightest of colors on skirts and dresses. Au Jour le Jour had fun with pop art inspired playful food prints.

All over repeating bird prints were seen from MSGM and high contrast geometric prints at Fausto Puglisi. Prints made quite an impact at Milan fashion week.

white out We have seen white on the runways for several seasons now, but designers in Milan mixed things up with the white trend. Milan designers mixed all white sheer paneling with structured and tailored silhouettes. From suits to dresses, there was a combination of strong and soft with this sheer white trend.

Australia

Meshfest On the fashion field, mesh has come a long way since gym class pinnies. For spring, designers covered all their bases to echo the sports luxe trend using netted, perforated and fishnet fabrics on baggy jackets, loose-fitting tops, ab-baring crop tops and peek-a-boo skirts and hemlines. Drawing inspiration from the uniform of professional athletes, this high-tech open webbing weave, typically reserved for the basketball court, transitioned these designers from down under into their own league.

Tribal Followers of fashion are heading into the wild this season as style takes on a tribal twist. Whether it's brightly coloured batik, geometric tribal prints or collections from designers with a rich African heritage, spring/summer's styles are bursting with Sub-Saharan vivacity. The bold, graphic prints and simple shapes are a gutsier take on the other ethnic trends of the season: more ballsy than whimsical boho; less contrived than the jingly coins and bejewelled scarves of the global nomad.

structure Structured silhouettes have been pretty popular with designers, especially in the form of tops and jackets. A structured top or tee is a great way of putting together a polished look with minimal effort. So designers are ditching the slouchy sweaters and tee this season and take a look at these structured tops that are perfect for working the boxy trend. The runways showed a fierce loyalty to shape come next spring. The architectural look is sticking around, along with a range of molded, silhouette-making styles

Prints charming Print blocking is the new color blocking. We are still enjoying the fall, however the summer collections are ready to be in the store. So time to get your summer inspiration and get a re-cap on what trends to wear this spring/summer.

Many designers showed bright colored prints, in combination with a more minimalistic and modern shaped black or white shaped top or pants. This look is the ultimate form of expression whether it be an artistic print or tribal it is up to you on how you want to pair it.

precious Metal Somewhere between the sky-high shoulder pads and bedazzled skirt suits of the eighties, metallics got a bad rap. Today, however, shiny clothing and accessories mean one thing: glamour. On the Spring 2015 runways, everyday outfits were injected with a shot of glitz thanks to some flashy, not trashy, twists on the metallic trend.

Despite the resounding theme of sequins and shine, these Australian designers kept things restrained, playing down the sex appeal of the sequins with modest silhouettes. Longer hemlines, long sleeves and high collars through out the shows meant a more daytime friendly approach to lamĂŠ and sequins.

New York

sultry slit The chosen area of shown skin has resided in the midsection for some time now with the amount of crop tops taking over the industry. Designers in New York chose a new area of skin to flaunt, the thigh. The high slit was seen all over runways around the world and kept American sportswear designers tastefully sexy.

peek-a-boo Light and shadow were played with in order to create windows to see the skin. Sport mesh, laser cut leather, crochet and sheers were all highlighted as ways to do exactly that this season on New York runways. Pairing large and small windows with one pieces and neutral separates underneath brought a new light to covering up.

unbeatable urban

Sporty inspired body con looks with athletic detail stormed New York fashion week this season. Sneaker and scuba details came in leathers, neoprene and open window like meshes. This sporty play on luxurious materials brought sportswear to the streets with a glamorous appeal.

flarred out The Wide leg wide is becoming the most relevant trouser on the runway for this up-coming season. This trend is seen in suits paired with soft neutral cropped jackets and sexy spring bustier’s. The color palette of the wide legged trouser ranges from whites and neutrals to fashion colors such as orange and blue.

blank slate Wearing all white is a statement of comfort and rule breaking, From Japanese street style to New York runways, head to toe white is the new all black. It’s a very chic and clean way of rocking all one color. White out was seen in suits, large pillow like skirts, crop tops and window paneled midi’s. Day or night, sunshine or snow, the white out trend is everywhere.

Paris

bohemian evening Heading out into the night just got a lot more romantic thanks to the likes of the Paris runway. Many designers loosened up their signature curvilinear silhouette for a softer, diaphanous look. A lot of the looks captured had very seductive necklines while others kept it romantically modest. The looks ranged from printed sheer fabrics to completely transparent lace.

Lacey-like Gorgeous ladylike lace took over the spring runways at Paris Fashion Week. From traditional white to pastel hues to even seductive black, the timeless style made a comeback for the new season. We captured some elegant gowns in the fabrication. Some designers paid homage to folklore with a bohemian collection that focused on airy silhouettes, long gowns and also daytime dresses in lace. Some were inspired by great artwork and architecture from the 18th century, but the lace looks they produced for the labels spring show were elegantly modern for today’s woman. Some looks were paired with printed trousers in white or color. A seventies vibe brought a retro look to the outfits.

poppin collars Today we find ourselves enamored with the more modest-yet no less sexy-high-neck silhouette. This of-the-moment neckline is currently on our radar thanks the 2015 Spring/Summer RTW shoes. An elegant nod to spring's athletic-inspired looks, this neckline has officially become the au courant choice for formal occasions and cocktail hours alike, hence, the reason we're bringing it to your attention.

White

stripe tease Prints got optical at the spring collections with some labels showing striped looks. From traditional black and white to almost a rainbow combination of hues, the pattern took the spotlight during Paris Fashion Week. We saw colorful jumpsuits and dresses with multi-colored stripes. Also presented was presented a gothic outing for spring, featuring short and flirty dresses as well as cross motifs. But black and white stripes were also a focus for designers.

French designer and one of the last true showman in fashion, Jean Paul Gaultier, presented his final readyto-wear collection at Paris Fashion Week for spring.

Amongst his greatest hits included striped suits and pants. The spring runway shows also tapped into the stripe trend with a slightly seventies vibe. From vertical to horizontal, the Valli band of girls also wore bands decorated randomly on their trousers.

That 70’s show While 70s inspired looks seemed like a common theme throughout Fashion Month, the designers at Paris paid special attention to the decade with everything from wide-legged pants to kitschy floral prints. It continued with ruffled dresses and retro color combinations brought a seventies twist.

Platform sandals, leather jackets and boat hats were all trademarks of the decade, and also made an appearance on the runway. But the 70s were also a major source for the Lebanese designer with wide-cut trousers, fluid maxi dresses and high slits.

tokyo

sterile Something repetitive as it is clean cut kept coming down the runway at Tokyo fashion week this year, all white from head to toe. As if wearing all white down dirty city streets isn’t enough to make you cringe, designers have thrown all tradition out of the window and ignore the Memorial Day to Labor Day rule. I guess rules are made to be broken now aren’t they?

bad blues Denim seems to be making a comeback in the fashion world for the upcoming season of Spring 2015 but when denim isn’t present, blue takes its’ place. Blues in hues as dark as navy or as light as the sky are drenched all over the runways in Tokyo. Rather than a black or white-out, next season will be a blueout.

branded The Graphic logo used as a print or a patch ranging from collegiate types to Goth took over Tokyo runway this season. A wide range of eye-catching colors were used in this labeling look as well as sport goth monochromes. Both high end and street wear designers wear rocking this trend making a bold statement about their brand.

walk the line The perfection of stripes has always drawn people in. This season’s outlook on stripes is a little different. Designers were putting a new stripe on the runway.

Some had a wide variety of widths and others with changed in direction halfway through a garment. The stripe became far from perfect in Tokyo and everyone seemed to like this new feminine and flowy take on such a modern staple.

chic & sheer Sheer Bombers, sheer dresses, Sheer crewnecks and sheer menswear shirting are just some of the ways to do sheer this upcoming season. Everyone caught on to this trend last year and it does not seem to be going anywhere.

Tokyo took this trend up a notch by using futuristic and sky like prints in their sheers. Day, night, last night or tomorrow morning, Tokyo sheering will be everywhere this spring.