The Big Round Up Womenswear FW 2013 Part 1
March 13, 2013 by Jetty
Filed under womenswear
Nothing as rewarding as summarizing after a grand series of shows. First of all you just note likeness and all similarities. Starting to pick out the headlines it becomes clear that there is always something really exiting to spot! Same procedure for fall 2013. Next to continuous retrospection there was introspection – designers looking inward to find a personal way of expression and re-finding their personal signature. The ones who did, did not dive into trends, the trodden paths of competition, but sourced for their most intimate inspirations. The happy aftereffect is that we met moments of sincere emotion and passion. The most beautiful quote to conclude this was coming from Miuccia Prada: “Who cares about the dress?” she said, this is about “Stories of women and life,”, Phoebe Philo declared backstage after her show for Céline: “It was coming from a place of emotion and intimacy, something instinctive. There was softness and desire, to create something emotionally engaged.”
Some collections might not have had the shock of the new and many showed that swift notion of the mid-century modern. Most interesting it was when a faint whiff of nostalgia was balanced with nowness. A lingering trend we spotted was the eccentric mixture of nostalgic wallpaper florals, art nouveau, Scottish heritage, Art Deco and Liberty blooms. All simmering in romance.
The buzz words where: intimate, feminine, elegance and emotion. Not just the collections played their roll. In some cases the interest in settings and sceneries became predominant. The Vuitton show unrolled like a silent movie. The mood was the 1920s, as the models came through each door on the corridor that was the hotel set. An atmosphere just as cinematic was the Film Noir setting at Prada – a spinning ceiling fan, shadows cast by blinds, a woman silhouetted in a doorway, waiting for…? All by means of an artful back projection. Miuccia launched her exercise in fashion as cinema.
Another hot topic was warmth generated by tactile softness. Cuddly, fluffy and sheltering. The number of soft and brushed looks grew steadily during this catwalk season. Especially coats where cuddly and generous in proportion. For some designers softness was the covering theme. Hernandez for Proenza Schouler stated: “It was all just soft, that’s the one word we were thinking about. Softness of form, softness of color, softness of texture.”
To wrap this up we point out that coats took the lead. Generally and globally this item won when it came to presence and quantity as well as quality of design. So passion, warmth, softness and coats. Setting the stage for an ice age!
We picked the frozen cherries for you, straight off the international catwalks in New York, Milan and Paris.
FEMINITY REVEALED
From left to right: Rodarte, Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton, Chloé and Prada
From pure exposure to more subtle revelations – intimacy exposed at Saint Laurent, emerging womanhood at Chloé, modern romance at Rodarte and passionate nostalgia at Vuitton and Prada. Sensuality and emotions unraveled in cinematic atmospheres showed femininity ‘under cover’ – soft lace hidden under long tweed coats, fluffy sweaters came with a slip of a skirt and velvet dresses had a swoop of neckline.
CALM ELEGANCE
From left to right: Jil Sander, Victoria Beckham, Hermès, Rochas, Ports 1961
A true timeless elegance flooded the catwalks at Jil Sander, Victoria Beckham, Hermès, Rochas and Ports 1961. Much more serene, feminine and sensual then the calm sobriety we faced seasons before. All soft and rounded. The skirts flaring just below the knee, showing true elegance in New Look proportions. Jackets elongated and slightly suppressed at the waist and coats – mannish and reassuringly oversize. All breathed calmness with lasting value in an esprit ranging from ‘Bon Chic Bon Genre’ to Film Noir allure. Slow, calm, quiet and with lasting value.
GREY MOOD
From left to right: Alexander Wang, Stella McCartney, Céline, J.W. Anderson, Lacoste
Concrete caught by the fuzz. Grayed-out and foggy marls were key for fall 2013. Brushed mohair, heathery and airy fleeces, compact felts and tarmac shaded double-face and bonded materials. This all added up to strange and sculptural beautiful cloths. Asphalt fleece and mohair knits are paved with iridescence at Alexander Wang, Stella McCartney wrapped her models in pinstripes, where Céline knotted hers in felt touch woolens. Monastic tunics at J.W. Anderson and fossil florals at Ports 1961.
Stylespot is a collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam
