FASHION TRENDJOURNAL VOL. 6 FASH 503 Smalika Verma 13/05/2017
PLASTICFASHION A few years ago, clothes made of Plastic sounded horrible! Today, it is all over the runway and retail stores thanks to a few prominent names like House of Loewe, Calvin Klein, Comme des Garçons and Vetements along with Topshop and Yeezy. Plastic fashion or “Clear” is a bolder take on the Sheer Trend, with a confidence of baring all and embracing the value of the transparent material in our lives. Plastic has also become a huge part of fashion accessories like bags and shoes with Lucite Heels. Plastic is a synthetic or semi-synthetic polymer that can be moulded or shaped. Lucite is actually a brand name. It is the brand name of DuPont’s acrylic type of material that has the properties of plastic and glass, which means it is clear.
Source: 1(Vulture Magazine – Photo by Juliette Cassidy, 2016), 2 (Ariana Grande Collection), 3 (Pinterest.com) Images on Cover – Topshop
ORIGIN 1920s was the decade we saw the rise of sheer silk stockings, ever since which sheer has become a classic. Materials like Organza and Chiffon started getting used from 1950s. J. Y. Park gained the title of 'fashion terrorist' for wearing the plastic pants during his ''Don't Leave Me'' promotions in 1994. 2000s saw the usage of transparent meshes as panels on runway collections. Designers like Pedro Lourenco used clear mesh panels in his runway collections of formal wear back in 2011. The past 5-6 years have seen more and more transparent materials being accepted which in a way also redefined the approach towards raincoats since plastic in a garment was basically used to shield from the rain. House of Loewe and Vetements took plastic and made them into couture and it has spread like wildfire since then. Source: 1(Pedro Lourenco Fall 2011 RTW – Elle.com), 2 (Leandro Cano A/W 2013 Mercedes Benz Fashion Week, Berlin - Getty), 3 (JYP Plastic Outfit - AllKPop)
RUNWAY For Spring 2016, Jonathan Anderson showed plastic pants at Loewe, and Demna Gvasalia took PVC and spun it into pinafore dresses at Vetements. Hair stylist Julien d’Ys sculpted stunning headpieces out of plain old plastic for the Spring 2017 Comme des Garçons collection. Raf Simons’ debut for Calvin Klein Fall 2017 has models walking down the runway decked out in coats with PVC overlays and plastic shift dresses. We can call it couch-cover couture (backstage joke!) Off the runways, there’s a steadily rising popularity of PVC bags, sandals, and thigh-high boots, which in turn may have been the real catalysts for Topshop’s bold interpretation of plastic fashion sported by Kim Kardashian West, Kendall Jenner amongst many familiar faces.
Source: 1(Calvin Klein Fall 2017 RTW), 2 (House of Loewe Spring 2016) 3 (Vetements Spring 2017), 4 (Comme des Garçons Spring 2017 RTW)
HOUSE OF Loewe The House of Loewe is an old, established Spanish fine leather company, but Jonathan Anderson understands that nothing could be duller than to dutifully put a luxurious leather coat with a matching bag. His project is to de-bourgeois-ify the context, and that’s how he came up with the device of using man-made materials—PVC, injection-molded synthetics—next to the traditional: “I thought, what else could be like a second skin?” Give or take a couple pairs of plastic-wrap trousers and transparent pants, the show pulled together was essentially a brilliant walking exhibition of accessories. He is a curator with an eye for placing multiple products in an interesting context and making them wantable from many angles. Since this runway show, the concept of clear pants has trickled into the market, followed by CK and today, we see Topshop selling clear jeans for $100 and more.
Source: All Images from Vogue.com – Loewe Spring 2016 RTW
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TOPSHOP
CALVINKLIEN The CK Fall 2017 guests were treated to a pared-down collection of bright hues, bold silhouettes, and a little bit of subversive sex appeal. Raf Simons served up his own take on nudity with transparent tops featuring varsity sweater sleeves. There was a large plastic story, with coats and tops covered in clear plastic for a somewhat kinky, synthetic vibe. There was also a strong “naked shoe” contingent, with Perspex fronts and bright-colored wings at the back. Simons devoted a fair bit of attention to the great American plastic couch cover, slipping transparent plastic over everything from plaid tailoring to a sensational yellow-gold fur coat and feathered cocktail numbers.
Source: All Images from Vogue.com - Calvin Klein Fall 2017 RTW Images on Previous Slide – Topshop
WHAT THEY SAY ABOUT The trend has made the line from the song Barbie by Aqua, “Life in Plastic, it’s Fantastic!” come alive. Ozone Design Lifestyle quoted, “Loewe debuted its Spring/Summer 2016 collection on the runway, by including several pairs of plastic pants on models. Vogue predicted that clear pants would become a trend. Topshop just recently launched the plastic jeans. These Polyurethane jeans are totally see-through and have taken social media by storm.” Kristina Rodulfo at Elle.com says “For $100, you could get a pair of Topshop "jeans" that are made of transparent vinyl. You might laugh or tweet something snarky (many have), but...those "jeans" are sold out!” There's one woman behind this denim madness, and her name is Mo Riach - TOPSHOP's head of design.
Source: Pinterest.com
CELEBCHECK Former BuzzFeed writer and now-Youtuber Safiya Nygaard wore the Topshop clear jeans every day of the week to work and garnered a mixed bag of reviews. Through the week, Safiya felt more and more comfortable about being bold and showing skin. Kim Kardashian West wore a pair of clear thigh-high boots from the Yeezy Season Four collection, a different take on ‘transparent’ pants. Lara Giliberto in her Cargo Collective collection has trench coats made from clear plastic (the full collection is yet to be revealed)
Source: 1 (WGSN A/W 18/19 Forecast), 2(Safiya’s Instagram Post) 3(Kim K in Yeezy – Daily Mail UK)
BIBLIOGRAPHY •
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"Differences Between Lucite and Plastic." Difference Between. 26 Dec. 2013. Gill, Sarina. "History and Evolution Behind Sheer." Fashion Diary: Sheer Bedroom Eyes Spring 2013 "J.Y. Park Is Proven to Be a Trendsetter Because 'Topshop' Is Now Selling His Infamous Plastic Pants." Allkpop. AllKPop, 27 Apr. 2017. Bobb, Brooke. "Topshop's Plastic Mom Jeans May Seem Strange, But They're Actually More Legit Than You Think." Vogue. Vogue, 26 Apr. 2017. Yotka, Steff. "Raf Simons Makes an All-American Calvin Klein Debut." Vogue. Vogue, 10 Feb. 2017. Rodulfo, Kristina. "Topshop Knows You're Laughing About Their Jeans." ELLE. 10 May 2017. Condra, Jill. "The Eighties." The Greenwood Encyclopaedia of Clothing through World History: 1801 to the Present. Westport (Conn.): Greenwood, 2008. 206-07. Print.
Source: Elle.com – Chado Ralph Rucci