New York Fashion Week has come to an end, and editors, buyers, celebrities,
and the rest of the fashion elite are already in attendance at London
Fashion Week. But, as the London fashion scene plays host to people from
around the world to celebrate the beauty of Britain’s fashion scene, let’s
take a quick look at the top five trends from NYFW fall/winter 2016.
First off, this season was all about the sleeves. Brands ranging from Runa
Ray to The Row gave more attention to the construction of their sleeves
this season than ever before. At Runa Ray’s presentation, pleated sleeves,
cap sleeves, and trumpet sleeves displayed the brand’s knack for skillfully
creating a variety of sleeve details. Oversized sleeves ruled the runways
this season as well, with brands like Michael Kors and Proenza Schouler
designing sleeves that were longer than the average woman’s arm. Designers
were going for a more statement effect with the arm details this season.
Embroidery was also very popular this season, and helped create beautiful
details in the collections of designers Naeem Khan, Reem Acra, and Georgina
Chapman and Keren Craig for Marchesa. The detailed embroidery on the
dresses of these aforementioned designers created a beautiful princess
effect in their collections, which is only fitting for these red carpet
favorites. Embroidery appears to be the new signature detail among luxury
dress collections, allowing for original details that aren’t easily
replicated.
East Asian influences also permeated through collections this season. While
many East Asian designers like Demi Park of Demoo Parkchoonmoo and Minsoo
Chung of O’2nd were drawing from their heritage, Indian designers like
Bibhu Mohapatra also found their inspiration in East Asian art and culture.
Mohapatra’s collection was inspired by the image of the Chinese Empress
Dowager Cixi. This resulted in looks like an imperial red crepe dress and
details like leather and sequin dragonflies adorning chic dresses.
Fur was also back in full force this season, being one of the most
luxurious materials that designers used. Creative directors like Dennis
Basso and Son Jung Wan incorporated fine furs from fox to raccoon in their
collections, presenting the most expensive and sophisticated looks
possible. Fur is definitely making a statement in a major way, but perhaps
we owe Karl Lagerfeld for that trickle down affect since he is such a major
proponent of fur.
One of the major trends that stuck out at the runways this season went
beyond the clothes, but instead, was about who was walking the runways. The
increase in the number of Black and Asian models walking the runways was
noticeable in shows like Hiromi Asai, who sent an entire kimono collection
down the runway, and Zac Posen who used more black models for his
collection than ever before. While the runways still aren’t as diverse as
they could be, progress is slowly being made, and designers are taking
notice to who is being casting for their runway shows. It’s time the
runways start looking like the rest of the world, and it is also time they
start representing the diverse array of customers who purchase these luxury
items.