New York Fashion Week FW07 Trend Recap: What Does It All Mean?

There’s been a lot of talk in the blogosphere about how NY Fashion Week this season were a retailer’s dream – simple, wearable silhouettes; easy, uncontroversial color palette; sophisticated, beautiful styling. And it’s true. Compared to the past few seasons’ esoteric offerings, this year’s was eminently more accessible (read: sellable). But there has to be something else, some other reason behind the designers’ creations. In the search for that deeper meaning, I’ve come up with the following theories about the season’s biggest trends:

Gloves and Pockets, Hoods and Hats
The developed world has a lot to be ashamed about lately, hence the hoods and hats, which allow us to hide from judgment. At the same time, the feeling of guilt for recent social, political, and environmental atrocities is pervasive, if not widely acknowledged, in our society. Gloves, which this season came all the way up over the elbows, and the recurring vision of hands shoved into pockets, both demonstrate our deepest desire to wash our hands of all the blood.


 

1. carolina herrera
2. dianne von furstenberg
3. carmen marc valvo

Sober Color Palette (Grays, Blacks, Navys)
Last week, I posted about a trend I saw emerging of a grey-toned color palette, and postulated that it had something to do with feng shui, in which grey is the color of transition, connection, balance and safety. I wrote that we – as a culture – are searching for balance in a world of confusion, and connection in a world of polarization. I stand by that theory. But the overall palette of grays, blacks, navys, and dark aubergines – sober and conservative by any – was evident in almost every collection, goes beyond feng shui. After six years of the Bush administration and almost as many years of loud, ostentatious collections under the tents, it’s finally time to relax and strip ourselves clean.

1. atil kutoglu
2. calvin klein
3. abaete

Sequins, Metallic, and Jewel Tones
That said, let’s give a warm welcome to some very dazzling, glittery sequins, metallics, jewel tones, and patent leather! Every runway show needs a little jolt of energy, just as every life does, and that’s where these trends come in. These fabrics, embellishments, and color choices caught the stage lights for a glint of fabulousness here and there, and often I could easily imagine the models as tiny (really!) little jewels glittering their way down the runway. Risking total cheesiness, I’d have to say that these accents served as a nice reminder that despite all our somberness, denial, and guilt, there’s a lot of beauty in the world, if you just catch it in the right light.
   

1. akiko ogawa
2. anna sui
3. oscar de la renta