A/W TREND BOOKLET MOLLIE O’BEIRNE
THE CONTEMPORARY GENTLEWOMAN
GREY SHADED PRESENTABLES
CROPPED LENGHTS
TREND FRAME The CONTEMPORARY GENTLEWOMAN is the most contemporary of A/W 15/16’s high street womenswear trends, consisting of casual tailoring, knitted looks, tactile fabrics and layer upon layer of a calming neutral palette. Evolving from the A/W 14/15 trend Luxe Casual, it takes in a smarter, more chic stride into 2016. Masculine influences drive this look, as well as an oversized, relaxed silhouette created through long, loose layers. The overall look is contemporary and luxurious, as well as casual and comfortable, appealing to the working 21st century women.
GREY SHADED PRESENTABLES
Ubiquitous grey remains a firm favourite at all this years Fashion Weeks world wide, quickly gaining ground as the new neutral colour of the season. Layering different greys gives the impression of depth to the colour and helps the consumer avoid the appearance of a flat, single toned outfit, while cleanlined pieces cut from modern fabrics feel inninotive and fresh. Greys are easily worn head -to- toe; in contrast with other colours in an outfit
‘The Contemporary gentlewoman’ trend is one that is ever growing as we climb higher and higher into the twenty first century, that is filled with forward thinking independant working women. To provide for oneself and have a successful career is a trend in itself and is something that women strive towards. As history proves, in only the most recent decades have women been seen to challenge a male’s authority and power in a work place and make a name for themselve’s in whatever industry they are in. The images above can be seen to represent this, presenting women in grey suits, none of which are figure hugging, displaying the garments as almost gender neutral. The colour grey can therefore be associated with a powerful women, who dresses neither to match her figure or stereotype, but for herself.
ALEXANDER WANG LANVIN
GIORGIO ARMANI MAISON RABIH KAYROUZ
VERSACE VETEMENTS
Deriving from this years designer runway shows, a ‘smart casual’ everyday look is emerging onto the highstreet and it’s stores. The highstreet stores adapt to the designers’ smart, tailored dress code by adjusting their items to consumer’s need for everyday comfort through the materials used and the fitting of the clothing, as this trend is not being applied to the workplace, but as seen in street style, to everyday life. The trend of dressing smartly and presentable will soon be seen this A/W.
CROPPED LENGHTS
Originating from S/S 15 trend of culottes, volume culottes are a trend that are beginning to be seen everywhere. As the trend of ‘Comfort Zone’ is beginning to take shape within ‘The Contemporary gentle women’, volume culottes are the smart-casual trousers of the season. An important item for A/W 15/16, voluminous culottes in structured cotton and lightweight wools feature exaggerated loose cuts in midi to ankle lengths.
ARAISARA HEMPEL
Culottes are arguably one of the best items of clothing to wear when it comes to showing off a pair of shoes. Many consumers are also drawn to culottes as it’s high waist line gives the impression of an elongated figure, pairing them with a heeled shoe adds to this. which is why petit con-
MILD TREE
For consumers with individual style, the versitility of the volume culotte means that they can always find a pair that represents them and how they wish to project this trend.
AS SEEN IN
ROSEMOO
Thick and now with added volume, this seasons culottes have come about at just the right time for a consumer who wants to be able to wear baggy clothes but still stay warm.
FITNESS FIRST
NIGHT MATCH ANTI-ANDROGYNY
TREND FRAME Driven by the growing youth fitness market and new generation of fitspo celebs, this style is breaking into the A/W trends with full force. The core sports palette is simple and athletic, keeping in mind that it will be worn by people for fitness and fashion purposes. Influenced by 1990s hip hop artists TLC and Salt-N-Pepa, who popularised the look and its associated brands. Celebrities such as Rhianna and FKA Twigs have always been associated with this style of dressing, but it’s the new generation of social media fitspo celebs and young models including Adrianne Ho, Gigi Hadid and Kendall Jenner driving the fitness first trend.
Similarly to ‘The Gentlewoman’ trend, it is now cool to be comfortable and dress down, even on occasions where the dress code is ‘smart’, because people are now able to style this active wear in a way that does look like an appropriate outfit for any occasion.
“The active lifestyle is having a huge focus, and it’s becoming evident in retail strategy at the moment,” says Sarah Owen, an editor at trend forecasting company WGSN. “With increasingly busy lives, people are really trying to multitask their work-life balance.”
NIGHT MATCH This season’s runway shows saw various brands send their models to the catwalk dressed in outfits that would suit both the treadmills and the bar, and somehow all managed to pull it off. When originally seeing this, many imagined that this look would never catch on and that it was just an effective, innovative way to capture an audience’s attention at Fashion week.
However, as seen below in multiple images taken from the ASOS website, the trend of wearing active sports gear on a night out has been catching on at a rapid pace.
A major factor contributing to the consumer’s motivation to participate in this trend is due to the ever desired aspiration to be apart of the celebrity lifestyle that is so easily accessible to view due to today’s social media. The sportswear brand Adidas was one of the most anticipated shows of Fashion Week, yet less than two years ago it would not have been given half a page in a magazine or spoken about on a blog. Kanye West collaborated with Adidas for the second time this year to produce his line, bringing all the attention associated with the rapper, of whom is also married to arguably the most famous reality star of all time, Kim Kardashian, who attended and posted images of both shows on her instagram. Stars such as the Kardashians and Jenners are under such a microscope and have such an online presence that they are always being judged for their appearance. Such scrutiny has left all family members to display their very active life-style, always being pictured in some form of active gear. People who admire the Kardashian clan and aspire to achieve looks such as theirs to inspiration from their wardrobes, therefore joining onto the trend of active wear now being a stylish garment to wear for all occassions, simply because it is being associated with them.
While this new seasonal message of ‘no middle’, as mainstream fashion continues to explore unisex products, an old, clearly defined stance of the sexes in sport wear has began to arise. Masculine and feminine bodies are beginning to be accentuated and the body stereotypes are embraced as people wish to see their improvements while working towards a specific body goal. ANTI-ANDROGYNY