Trend Report Fall/Winter 2012/2013: Military Inspired

Since girls love to look like they can run the world; strong military looks are a trend every few seasons. This year labels like Victoria Beckham, Gucci, MaxMara and Salvatore Ferragamo took the army theme to a new level.

They kept their ladylike silhouettes, yet added military accents like epaulets, large buttons and breast pockets. They opted for military shades too; army green, black, navy and mustard making up the perfect military color palette.

Subtle details added some the extra feminine factor, like red lips and a double waist belt (Victoria Beckham), colored nails and tiny jewelry (Salvatore Ferragamo) and a fluffy clutch (Moschino Cheap & Chic).

Going through these images we’re already craving for one of those statement jackets.

Trend Report Fall/Winter 2012/2013: Lace it up

Last season it was all about the bondage theme. This year only the bondage boots have stayed. Shiny, leather lace up boots are an unexpected trend for fall.

Now you might never want to take it to the Versus level (all the way to the hips), but there’s nothing wrong with a little lace up.

Custo created a fringed boot, the models at Dolce & Gabbana sported some patent leather versions, Donna Karan’s were red croc printed, Karl designed hairy ones for Fendi and Nina Ricci left out the laces.

So more than enough options to choose from and remember you don’t need to look like a SM fanatic; you can style them any way you like.

Trend Report Fall/Winter 2012/2013: Blooming Winter Florals

Not fun and flirty like in summer, but gorgeous and luxurious is the feeling we got from the floral prints on this year’s fall collection. Especially Dolce & Gabbana’s embroidered winter florals (on the skirts, tops, bags and in the models’hair) looked mesmerizing. Yet Erdem, Christopher Kane and Peter Pilotto stunningly put the catwalk in bloom as well.

McQ attached fabric flowers to a black lace dress as Marni created one of it’s signature printed suits with golden flowers. Antonio Marras and Preen opted for autumn shades as the rest took the theme a little darker.

Whether eastern-inspired, tropical or pure fantasy; every single flower put a smile on our faces. Winter in bloom, we like!

Trend Report Fall/Winter 2012/2013: Hat Factor

Every single season hats pop up during the collection presentations. Yet we can’t remember having seen hats as big as they were for fall/winter 2012/2013. Marc Jacobs clearly seems to have had some kind of hat obsession during his designing process. In every single one of his collections (Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs and Marc by Marc Jacobs) there was a hat-overkill.

Models stepping of the Louis Vuitton train wore colored felt versions as the young girls at  Marc Jacobs sported the most hideous (if we may say so) colored fur examples. They might never be worn by a living soul again, yet they made up for a nice show gimmick.

More modest hats that will in fact generate sales are the ones designed by Max Mara, Donna Karan, Roberto Cavalli and Burberry. We did not recognize any particular hat trend, but hats definitely add that wow-factor to any fall look.

Trend Report Fall/Winter 2012/2013: Countrystyle

Quilted jackets, tweed suits, leather boots and jodhpurs; dressing like the English Elite was never this fashionable. Designers, from Burberry and Lacoste to Ralph Lauren and MaxMara all reinterpreted these country classics.

Done is earthy tones like army green, beige, camel and brown the traditionally tailored designs made up for some wearable looks topped off by tweed hats and knee high riding boots.

While more classic brand like Tommy Hilfiger, Lacoste and Ralph Lauren stayed on the save side; brands like Burberry and Chloé experimented with shapes and materials to create modern countryside looks that would work excellent in the city’s streets.

Trend Report Fall/Winter 2012/2013: Ginormous bags

Remember the tiny designer bags in which we could barely put a set of keys and a cell phone at the same time? Well they’ve gone for good (ehh..for a few seasons). This fall it’s all about the ginormous bags.

According to Alexander Wang, DKNY, Chloé, Michael Kors and Marc Jacobs having to fit all your items in one bag is no longer a concern. What you need to start worrying about is the risk of packing way too much. Because the big fall/winter bags seem large enough for an entire weekend break.

We couldn’t be more excited. Now we just need to learn how to pack efficiently and neat, so we’re not searching and grabbing for our keys for over half an our.

Trend Report Fall/Winter 2012/2013: Funky Sweaters

Forget those Nordic printed knitted sweaters we’ve seen the last couple of years; upcoming fall it’s all about the cool printed ones. And the crazier the print, the more popular the sweater, so it seems…

Balenciaga introduced multiple versions of a space printed jumper, while Humberto Leon and Carol Lim created a tiger printed sweater for Kenzo. We spotted horses at Altazurra and a spooky creature at Diesel. Jeremy Scott and Asish took it even further by showing knitted smileys and Bart Simpson tops. Add a few outstanding graphic prints from brands like Sportmax, Moschino and Stella McCartney and you’re sure there will never be a dull moment this fall… fashion wise, that is.

Trend Report Fall/Winter 2012/2013: Hourglass chic

As a result of last season’s peplum hype this fall it is all about the accentuated waistline again. At Etro and Dior we still spotted some gorgeous peplums, yet other brands (Oscar de la Renta, Salvatore Ferragamo, Prada, Rodarte) created the same hourglass effect by  belting tops, jackets and even big winter coats.

This brings the waistbelt back in the picture after a few years of absence. And guess what, it’s getting bigger again. Sonia Rykiel and Victoria Beckham may still have opted for smaller belts, yet as seen at Michael Kors, Yves Saint Laurent (Saint Laurent Paris), Acne and Fendi big belts are back. Wear yours in a shade matching your outfit and create that elegant super feminine figure.

Lichting 2012 Amsterdam Catwalk Fashion Show

On Thursday night the top notch of Dutch fashion students presented their work in a crowded tropical warm show area. Fourteen upcoming designers all showed their skills by each sending out four of their best looks.

We spotted some serious talent and very much enjoyed the diversity of the collections.

See all the looks of the fourteen designers:

Esther Kruyer, Brian Geradts, Nadja Wering, Miriam de Waard, Ilona Putkaradze, Sara Veenstra, Tess van Zalinge, Yvonne Kwok, David Laport, Poul Brouwer, Morta Griskeviciute, Judith van Vliet, Jef Montes, Dagmar Lindeijer

Winde Rienstra Amsterdam Fashion Week Preview

Family business
When I catch up with Winde she tells me she still has a lot work to do on her collection. Winde: “Right now I’m working from 09.30 AM till 02.00AM almost every day. Luckily I’m getting some help too. I have two interns, my father is helping out with some of the wooden constructions, my brother and his girlfriend are working on the shoes and my mother is, besides cooking for me, giving an extra hand on the handwork. So it’s like a family business.”

Handcrafts
Besides her family Winde has two groups of people helping her out with the collection. “I am working on a project about handcrafts called “Spinning a Yarn” with people from different cultural backgrounds and part of the project is to ask them to collaborate with me on this collection. One group of four (a Dutch woman, an Iranian, a Chinese lady and a Turkish woman) is creating different handcrafted elements for the collection. The other group of ten women is working on floral embroideries, which eventually can be seen throughout the collection.”

Nomad
A modern nomad tribe was Winde’s concept of the collection, which will include a total of eight looks. “I am doing research about authentic tribes and nomadic modern tribes, I wanted to focus on the way modern tribes work and combing that with the way authentic tribes used to bond by doing needle work together. Modern nomadic tribes nowadays mainly exist online. You go on the internet to find people with the same ideas and interest, people travel online. That’s what I want to portray.”

Mystery shoes
The shoes seem to be the biggest mystery of the collection, yet Winde does dare to tell us a little more of what we will actually be able to see during the show. “Slow fashion is still very important for me, so there will be lots of handcrafted pieces. I’ve used wood (naturally), silk and fake fur. I have created my own transparent print by using the Ausbrenner technique.  And I will show more transparent items, as well as graphic shapes and loose-fitting dresses.”

This autumn Winde’s collection will be exhibited in Utrecht for three weeks from the 7^th of September, but for anyone who can’t wait her collection can be seen during Amsterdam Fashion Week (online as well!).

Winde Rienstra will show her Spring/Summer 2013 collection on 14 July at 03.00 PM

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