New York – The colors were dark, the mood both sober and rebellious.
Fashion reflects the times, and judging from the fall-winter 2006 shows just held in New York, designers think modern women need a kind of armor to get them through their days and nights. Borrowing freely from the 1980s, but injecting clothes with a contemporary edginess, designers eschewed traditional definitions of prettiness to give women a strong, authoritative look. Skinny pants and leggings, wide shoulders, belted waists and voluminous layers were among the recurring themes in the shows of clothes that will be in stores this fall.
In a preview the night before his show, Zac Posen described his collection as “Perfectionist Rebel.”
He said he was inspired by women who take charge and want their lives and wardrobes to be uncomplicated. “There is nothing more chic than simplicity,” he said, noting he borrowed from the best of several decades, notably the 1960s and 1980s.
“I see a trend to the ’80s, a toughening up of luxury, with more layers, cropped leather jackets, a shift away from dresses to pants, either wide legged or skinny,” said Anne Slowey, fashion news director for Elle magazine.
While designers are in the mood for a change, it will be up to consumers to judge whether or not they feel comfortable in leggings, waist-cinching belts and piles of sweaters, coats and wraps
Here’s a look at key trends from the shows.
1. Shot in the dark
Black was omnipresent in the collections, as were silver and smoky grays, chocolate browns and deep greens. Some designers brightened the effect by making combinations of brown and turquoise or red and black, but the overall palette was muted and washed out. Traditional autumn colors like forest green, pumpkin and russet were few and far between. Metallics in both gold and silver continued.
2. 1980s revival
Trends from the time Madonna rose to fame made a comeback in the fall shows. Biker jackets, zipper trims, padded shoulders, clingy, stretch fabrics and skinny pants were shown by such directional designers as Zac Posen, Proenza Schouler and Karl Lagerfeld, who debuted his New York line alongside Lagerfeld Collection, which is created in Paris.
3. Waisting away
After years of sitting on the hips, belts again solidly cinched the waist. From skinny ribbons and bows to wide cummerbund-style leather belts, accessories highlighted the midsection. Designers like Michael Vollbracht for Bill Blass used wide black leather belts, Vera Wang chose delicate floral corsage or masculine trench styles, and Peter Som used patent leather. The empire style continued to be shown, as well.
4. Getting a leg up
You know something’s a trend at Fashion Week when the young fashion editors are already wearing it. This season marked the return of leggings and tights, a welcome trend after years of bare legs in the winter. Footless tights looked good under skirts when worn with high heels or boots. Opaque tights increased the fashion quotient of an outfit, particularly when they’re in a contrasting color.
5. Fur sure
The design world’s love affair with fur shows no signs of subsiding. Vera Wang dyed astrakhan green, Carolina Herrera showed a dress with sheared fur sleeves, Derek Lam presented chubby jackets and boas, and Zac Posen cut fur like fabric, fashioning a tux jacket out of Swakara, a type of lamb. Michael Kors used black fox for a bubble coat, sable for a capelet and ebony mink for a “bed jacket” tied at the front with a satin bow.
Faux fur was also plentiful, as was shearling, which is typically made from sheep or lambs.
6. Layering and draping
If one piece is good, five or six must be better, designers reasoned. The models in some shows had on so many pieces that instructions would be needed for duplicating the effect at home. Marc Jacobs was the master at this, showing outfits that included leggings, a skirt, sweater, jacket tied around the waist, coat and a cape over the whole shebang. The Karl Lagerfeld collection also was a multilayered affair. The effect was most wearable when the layers were light and artfully draped.
7. Boot camp
From lace-up styles with conical heels to sturdy work footwear, boots were the dominant accessory in the fall collections. We liked the look of ankle-high boots worn with tights in several shows, as well as the sexy over-the-knee boots at Ralph Lauren. What we didn’t see much of, with the exception of the Manuel show, was this winter’s hit, cowboy boots.
8. Getting the skinny
Slender-leg trousers made a big return to the fashion scene, appearing in collections by everyone from Ralph Lauren and Ellen Tracy to newcomer Brian Reyes. In stretch fabrics they’ll be more comfortable than when they first were in fashion, but this is not going to be a universal favorite, particularly with women who have hips.
Women will still be able to find wide-leg pants come fall. They were shown in collections by such trendsetters as Karl Lagerfeld, as well as classicists like Carolina Herrera and Oscar de la Renta.
9.Cropped tops
When the silhouette on the bottom gets small, it follows that tops get roomier. A trend that has been developing for a couple of seasons, the swing jacket, peplum styles, belted cropped versions and other styles with flowy bottoms were in full blossom in the fall shows.
10. Patterns of event
Fall is typically the season for plaids and houndstooth checks, but designers took prints to another dimension with abstract woven designs, geometrics, tapestry florals, brocade and blanket plaids. Sometimes they mixed fabrics in a single outfit, as Diane von Furstenberg did with a houndstooth jacket and plaid skirt.
11. Shine on
Metallics continue to be a fashion bright spot, whether shown as a gold lamé pleated skirt at Ralph Lauren or a dress scattered with bronze paillettes at Marc Jacobs. Metallic accessories – shoes, belts and boots – also have an extended shelf life, particularly in more muted shades.
12. Up one’s sleeves
To balance the slender bottom half of an outfit, designers put more volume on top. Dolman, or batwing sleeves, were back, as are bell sleeves. Designers like Zac Posen also put big bell sleeves on simple shirts. And in numerous collections, the bracelet-length sleeve returned. If not layered over a long-sleeved top, the sleeves looked best with long gloves, as Monique Lhuillier showed them.
Staff writer Suzanne S. Brown can be reached at 303-820-1697 or sbrown@denverpost.com.
