Spring 2012 Runway Collections His floral prints stayed in his normal palette of dark colors, being showcased in dark blues, grays, and blacks and The spring 2012 runways shows in New York City were a adorning sporty BMX inspired garments. Rodarte’s collecmix of new trends, retro references, bold prints, and pat- tion featured a floral motif inspired by Vincent Van terns, unexpected colors, and sporty silhouettes and fab- Gough’s most popular paintings. The collection showrics. Each show had its own unique flavor and style, but cased pieces in shades of aqua, golden yellow, navy blue, many of the New York designers still had common violet, and lime green. At Prabal Gurung the floral print themes and elegot more abstract with inspiration from Araki’s Sensual ments, showing Flower Series. Gurung collaborated with a print maker in that designers are London to create the unique floral design. The floral print quite often influcreated a sensual, almost fetish-like show that in some enced and inspired cases left little to the imagination. At Jason Wu floral by similar trends. prints adorned tops, shorts, dresses, and skirts that all Some of the most had a very retro-50’s style vibe to them. The floral prints popular trends included gray petals layered over black sheer fabric, and from the runways blue and white petal shapes sitting atop navy blue fabric. included; bright Other designers that showcased floral patterns were floral prints, African Thakoon, Peter Som, and J. Crew. -influenced patterns and color Tribal/Ethnic Influence schemes, 1920’s silhouettes and embellishment, sportEthnic and tribal influenced patterns and color inspired fabrics and schemes including rich, warm tones of gold, tan, brown, elements, and color khaki, rust, and pea-green mixed with white and black, blocking, brought a much needed flavor to the spring collections. This sexy, tribal aesthetic created excitement and intrigue in collections by Michael Kors, Donna Karan, Giulietta, and Zero + Maria Cornejo. Michael Kors’ collection animal magnetism and safari travel chic to a Floral prints have been a popular pattern choice brought wide array of garover several seasons now, but for the spring 2012 collecments. Calf-length tions, floral prints were seen in a different light. Instead coats in mustard and of floral prints featured in subdued hues, this season was army green adorned about embracing bold colored and abstract floral prints dresses, short and worn in new and unexpected ways. Since color has been shirt pairings, playslowly making its way back into the realm of fashion, desuits, rompers, and signers are embracing it head on with bold pairings and bathing suits. Many combinations. At the Proenza Schouler show, floral prints of the garments were were given a tropical twist with island style florals in hues patterned in animal such as lime, turquoise, orange, and yellow. Altuzarra prints such as tiger also used island florals as his inspiration, but utilized a and cheetah, and also rainbow of colors in his prints. These prints were found varying shades of tieon entire garments, and on jackets, skirts, shirts, and dye. The collection pants as accents. The color was expertly paired with a featured sturdy, duraneutral color palette of black and off-white, and with ble materials with a bright colors such as yellow and green. Alexander Wang, utilitarian-traveler known for his tough, yet feminine designs, embraced flovibe. ral prints and the athletic inspired trend simultaneously.
By Elaina Price
Floral Prints
Each piece looked as if it would only grow more fashionable with wear, and the use of leather as an accent brought a much need variation in texture to the collection. Donna Karan, has been very influenced by the Haitian culture every since the catastrophic earthquake left the country in turmoil. Therefore her collection had a very ethnic look to it. The palette was in shades of brown, black, yellow, green, khaki, orange, white, and purple. Many of the patterns looked like they were painted on the fabric, and different fabrics were sewn together to create interesting shapes and tribal patterns. Giulietta’s collection featured northern African patterns and silhouettes that were minimalistic, and feminine in nature. Zero + Maria Cornejo created an African flavor to many of their collection pieces by utilizing different dying methods and creating patterns that looked authentically tribal. The color palette of black, white, brown, red and royal blue created a dynamic look that transcended borders.
Roaring 20’s The roaring 20’s were an inspiration for many designers during fashion week. The rebellious flapper was reinvented, and the well-to-do society girl received a much needed modernized flair. Marc Jacob’s collection recreated the iconic flapper dress by using unconventional materials to create “fringe.” Clear and blue plastic were two materials of choice throughout Jacob’s collection, and created interesting textures and silhouettes never seen before. While the essence of the 1920’s woman was prominent in the collection in the form of lady-like silhouettes, and feminine details, the use of unique materials brought this iconic woman to modern if not futuristic times. At Tory Burch, the 20’s style was shown through retro silhouettes, retro-inspired garments, and embellishment, but was given a bold new look with punchy graphic prints and pops of bright color such as red, yellow, and turquoise. It wasn’t hard to see the fashionable, highsociety girl that Burch was trying to portray. Ralph Lauren ran head first into the trend, crafting dresses in materials such as silk, feathers, and lots of intricate beading in soft, pastel colors such as lemon yellow, mint green, and salmon. The use of accessories in the collection elevated it to new heights. The small sculpted hats in a wide range of colors, and the floral silk scarves knotted around the models’ necks, took the show back to another time and place entirely. The Row, created silk pajamas for day, by taping into the 1920’s pajama trend. Oscar de la Renta, known for his glamorous, feminine dresses, created pieces that showcased white lace, tweeds, colorful patterns, embellishment including feathers and sequins, and sculpted taf-
feta. Marchesa took the flapper dress to a more literal level by creating knee grazing dresses covered entirely by beaded fringe. Other stand-out pieces from the collection were created using organza, silk, feathers, beadwork, and other intricate details. The 1920’s glamour trend was translated into beautiful gowns for evening and short, youthful party dresses for a night out on the town. Talk about a 1920’s statement.
Sports/Athletic Inspired
The sports/athletic influenced trend seemed to be the most innovative and popular among designers at New York Fashion week. Materials such as mesh, nylon, and scuba material were used to create some of the season’s most memorable looks. Sports jackets were in abundance being worn over dresses and more feminine pieces, creating an interesting juxtaposition. Not only were the fabrics athletic inspired, many designers created pieces that had sports influences such as track-suits and outdoor wear. Bill Blass, Helmut Lang, Alexander Wang, Vera Wang, and Victoria Beckham, all showed collections that had a flair for adventure and for sports themselves. Bill Blass’s collection was very nautical inspired with pieces ranging from raincoat inspired jackets, to tank dresses with contrasting piping for a laid-back, comfortable look. At Helmut Lang the sports trend took more of a gym work out attire feel, with a cool edge. Pants had a drape to them that looked comfortable, but still effortlessly chic. Flowy, A-symmetric tops, skirts, and dresses looked effortless and breezy overtop of sports bra-like tops. The ever so versatile, soft, and easy fabrics gave the collection a refined and laid-back look. Alexander Wang took the sports trend quite literally with BMX -style separates that epitomized wearable athleticism. Tops, shorts, and pants were both made and accented by mesh material and breathable nylon fabric. Other sportswear fabrics such as leather, and spandex were also used to create the athletic-inspired collection. Vera Wang’s spring 2012 collection was inspired by motocross, and this came across in her use of contrasting piping, and body conscious silhouettes. Materials such as parachute silk in colors such as white, yellow, black, gray, ice blue, pale pink, and abstract swirl patterns created a sporty, yet wearable look. At Victoria Beckham, the sporty-outerwear created quite a stir, when paired with feminine, body hugging dresses and pencil skirts. Sweat shirts crafted out of satin were also a major hit. The scuba style dresses were given a modern twist with interesting necklines.
Color Blocking
Color blocking is just one of those trends that just keep coming back for more. It is really one of those trends that shouldn’t even be called a trend; it should really be called a fashion staple, because that is what it seems to be for many designers. This season Reed Krakoff, Narciso Rodriguez, J. Mendel, MaxMara, and Salvatore Ferragamo, were among the designers that featured this trend in their collections. Reed Krakoff featured a trench coat color blocked in lemon yellow and navy blue. The two contrasting tones complemented each other and looked polished and oddly wearable. While Narciso Rodriguez’s collection was graphic in the use of color blocking, it utilized the trend with mostly shades of black and white with pops of color, instead of the typical bright colors. This approach to color blocking is much more minimalistic and more adaptable to women's’ already established wardrobes. The use of predominantly black and white also made the pops of red and royal blue stand out all the more. J. Mendel used the color blocking trend in a vertical way. Quite literally, the designer turned the color blocking trend to the side instead of up and down, which made skirts and dresses stand out, with the use of three colors or more as opposed to just two. Colors such as black were mixed with white, turquoise, violet, navy, yellow, and khaki, while different shades of green and peach were also featured. Like many other designers that featured color blocking in their spring collections, MaxMara took a more subtle approach. Instead of using in your face colors, the designer opted for soft beige, white, and aqua paired together on dresses, skirts, tops, and jackets. The affect was fresh and new, and a great way to incorporate the color blocking trend without being too obvious. The models’ were ablaze with color at the Salvatore Ferragamo runway show. While the collection was steeped in colorful, overthe-top prints, color blocking was also seen in abundance, and it made a major statement. Colors that are normally considered to clash with one another, were paired together, while warm and cool tones were also matched to create outfits that can’t be missed.
Men’s Spring 2012 Collections looks that had up to three prominent colors in them. The pallet of salmon, mustard yellow, and slate blue was used There is a strong correlation between the popular to achieve the look. Roberto Cavalli known for his use of trends for both the women’s and men’s collections for bold colors and patterns let his collection once again spring 2012. Many of the popular trends that were seen speak for itself. Entire suits were crafted out of mustard on the women’s run- yellow, cobalt blue, and burgundy material, and created ways, are the same as quite an impact on the runway. All of the pieces in the the men’s. Trends collection were expertly tailored, and looked posh and such as bright colors, professional even in their unexpectedly exuberant colors. and bold patterns At Versace, Donatella Versace created a frenzy with her were utilized by destriking color choices of royal blue, golden yellow, emersigners in both colald, hot pink, and cherry red, both separate and comlections, and were posed together as in the case of the cherry red and hot both a welcomed pink. While some might say that the colors clashed, they changes. With men sill had an air of sophistication and creativity. wearing different garGraphic Prints ments than women however, lead to a Bold patterns made quite a comeback on the few varied trends men’s runway. The patterns utilized by many designers that are only seen on were completely different and complimented their visions the men’s runways. in different ways. Prada, Burberry, D&G, Givenchy, and These trends include; double breasted blazers, wide leg Moschino, were all brands pants, and shorts in varying lengths and fabrics. that created beauti-
By Elaina Price
Bright Colors
The use of bright colors was a popular trend for Spring 2012. While most men are quite reluctant to embrace bold colors in a major way, the fashion world was loving every eye-popping minute of it. With the men’s collections being so devoid of color, it was an exciting and unexpected sight to see so many designers jumping on the color blocking bandwagon. Collections from Kenzo, Marc by Marc Jacobs, Roberto Cavalli, and Burberry, showcased this trend in an uninhibited way. At Kenzo, bold hues of fuchsia , aqua, cobalt, mustard yellow, and lime were boldly used on blazers, pants, vests, cardigans, and dress shirts. These shades were either paired together or worn with white or a print, to allow for a more noticeable impact. Other accessories such as scarves and hats added pops of color to the men’s outfits, and created a more cohesive collection. Marc Jacobs created a line that was anything but boring. While Jacobs did not use overly bold colors, he mastered the color blocking trend by concocting
ful and unique patterns that adorned the garments in their collections. At Prada, the retro look was captured with a variety of old school prints and colors. Most of the prints either featured small hand drawn sketches of people and other objects, or were variations on floral prints, or polka dots and plaids. Most of the patterns were colorful and graphic in nature, while others such as the plaids, were more subdued, and simple.
Most of the patterns were colorful and graphic in nature, while others such as the plaids, were more subdued, and simple. Many of these punchy patterns stood on their own, while others were expertly paired together for a more dynamic and eyecatching look. Burberry was one of the other brands that captured the graphic pattern trend, but used it as more of an accent than an all around fashion statement. Patterns adorned knit sweaters, dress shirts, hats, a single pair of shots, one jacket, and several pairs of pants. The patterns ranged from varying colored zigzags, to circles, stripes, tribal prints, and waves. All patterns were created using different colors, for a more diverse look. D&G manipulated the pattern trend is a slightly different way. All of there abstract prints were done on silk fabrics in tones such as slate, brown, yellow, navy, royal blue , sage, emerald, red , gold, and rust. The prints could be found on dress shirts, t-shirts, pants, and shorts, along with accents on shirt sleeves, collars, and shoulders. Givenchy also created abstract patterns for their spring collection, but the patterns were done in shades of green, pink, orange, blue, black and purple which created a more interesting look. This graphic print was seen on nearly all garments in the collection, ranging from t-shirts, to pants, blazers, jackets, skirts, and sweaters. The pattern overlaid both brilliant white and forest green. The collection, while not exactly wearable, was quite innovative and very creative. Moschino, another Italian fashion house made use of creative prints in their menswear collection. 1950’s American rockers were the inspiration behind the collection, so the use of vintage 50’s style prints was necessary. Dress shirts were decked out in checkered patterns and black floral prints, t-shirts featured abstract , colorful scenes, blazers and shirts alike showcased floral prints in both brown and blue and red and black, and ties were striped
with white and black. All of the patterns helped transport the clothes to a different time period.
The cut
Double Breasted Blazers
and shape of
the blazer is always transforming and evolving. There isn’t a season that goes by where the blazer has a completely new look and style, this Spring 2012 season is no exception. The double breasted blazer made is debut in the collections of Yves Saint Laurent, Prada, and Ermenegildo Zegna. Yves Saint Laurent is the epitome of sophistication and classic, timeless designs. This season they featured a double breasted, tight –fitting blazer s in navy blue, charcoal , slate blue, gray, and white. The double breasted look was also shown on wool fulllength coats, and trench coats. Prada also featured a number of double breasted blazers in their collection. Prada, had three different double breasted blazers in their show. One of them, which was fashioned in a stone blue, opened the show , while the other two blazers rounded out the end the show and took a darker approach, being featured in black. At Ermenegildo Zegna several blazers were crafted in this fashion. The cut of the jackets were slim and highly tailored, creating a polished, masculine look. The collection featured pieces in soft neutrals and pastel hues, which gave it a fresh, springtime feel.
Skinny
Wide Leg Pants
men and women have been quite popular in recent years. This is reflected on both the runway and the street. This super tight look was all the rage because it created a leaner silhouette, and was a new take on an old pant classic.
pants for both
Now, with the past becoming a popular trend in present collections, wide-leg pants are making a come back once again. The look is a little bit retro, a little bit mysterious, and a lot sophisticated. That is why menswear brand designers such as Lanvin, Etro, Salvatore Ferragammo, and Dolce & Gabbana are all adopting this trend with open arms. While Lanvin showcased both skinny and wide-leg pants in their show, it was the wide-leg pants that got the most notice. The wider silhouette was found on a variety of different types of pants including; wool trousers, linen pants, to name a few. The wider leg pant trend at the Etro show took two different forms. On one end of the spectrum, the pants were made using solid colored material such as tan, pale pink, red-orange, navy, gray, and yellow to create a more casual, yet sophisticated look. While on the other end of the spectrum, earth tone paisley, and blue and red plaid , blue striped, polka dot, and floral prints adorned the newer silhouette. At Salvatore Ferragamo the collection had a very south of France influence that came through in the garments. The wide-leg pants featured in khaki, jade green, navy, and white, making them easier to incorporate into fashionable men’s closets. Dolce & Gabanna took a very suave and sharp approach to their runway collection. All of the suits were polished and expertly tailored. While the blazers were quite fitted, the pants had a slightly larger leg. This did not hurt the proportions of the suit, but it did create a different aesthetic all the same. The wide leg pants colors included black, navy, brown, mauve, light gray, and charcoal.
Short and Sweet
The Spring 2012 runway looks for men, are about giving men fashionable garment options for the spring months. This means warmer weather clothing is a must. This is why shorts were seen in abundance all over the runways. Runway collections by Christopher Kane, Carven, Jean Paul Gaultier, and Jil Sander interpreted this trend differently, and created great collections. Christopher Kane went more tailored and sophisticated with his short design for his newest collection. All of the shorts were to the knee and where crafted out of dark colored wool. These shorts almost look dressy enough for the office, or at least a nice get together. The shorts at Carven were very
British inspired, with shorter lengths, a wider silhouette, and cuffed bottoms. The look was very casual, but quite fashionable at the same time, and the whole concept of cuffed bottoms was found on both trousers and shorts alike. Jean Paul Gaultier’s collection had many different themes and directions to it, meaning the look of the shorts were all quite different as well. Shorts ranged from long, and slim in both solids and patterns including island scenes, plaids, and florals, to shorts with wide-legs and pleats, and short-shorts in athletic fabrics. Jil Sander, known for its minimalistic nature, didn’t fail to exert its reigning aesthetic. Wide-leg wool-dress shorts were worn by models on the runway with blazers in matching dark colors. Many of the shorts were also high waisted, and had t-shirts expertly tucked into them.