Fashion

A Barack Obama presidency will no doubt help to keep a well-tailored suit a must-have. The Oscars and other Hollywood events, along with Vogue and other fashion magazine photo shoots, keep glamour alive, and make the evening dress a must-have for women.

Fashion

‘Fashion’ is more than clothing. It’s zeitgeist – the ‘spirit of the times’. Fashion captures the imagination of a generation, and reflects its hopes and aspirations in clothing. While there may be men’s, women’s, boy’s and girl’s clothing, fashion cuts across the board. The same inspirations, color, fabric and embellishment can inform girls and boys fashion, and even men’s and women’s fashion. Denim is a classic example of this. While the cut of a pair of jeans may be different for men and women, the fabric treatment and embellishment will be similar, even as the fashion changes. Likewise, a designer label’s boys’ clothing is likely to be modeled on its men’s clothing.

However, so-called high fashion (such as couture) and everyday fashion (such as street wear) seem to be becoming more and more distinct. This might be because – as some economists point out – the gap between the wealthier and poorer in society is widening. But, it might also be due to the influences of other cultural elements, such as cinema and music. Hip Hop has given rise to an edgy street fashion, and that fashion is now constantly reinterpreted, with other elements added to it.

While there is no contemporary music style inspiring the wearing of expensive suits or dresses, men’s magazines, the new James Bond movies, and celebrities such as David Beckham have made the suit stylish again. A Barack Obama presidency will no doubt help to keep a well-tailored suit a must-have. The Oscars and other Hollywood events, along with Vogue and other fashion magazine photo shoots, keep glamour alive, and make the evening dress a must-have for women.

Long, elegant dresses, using light, flowing fabrics such as chiffon, have been appearing on the catwalks recently. Large prints – such as florals and geos – also add another dimension to the evening dress. And colors are either bold – such as a collection of turquoise, pink, browns and mint – or are monochromatic gray, beige, white, etc. In menswear we also see the same trend. Shirts might have a colorful, saturating Liberty-type ditsy floral print, or they may be a traditional white, or, matching a gray or beige suit.

And, you’ll see lots of inspiration from Japan or China or ethnic culture on the catwalk, especially in the “styling”. However, at the street level these influences are still largely limited to textiles print for fashion, rather than the silhouette of garments or outfits. Cutting-edge Japanese-type graphics, African-type bold geos or “tribal” prints, and textured fabrics are becoming more important once again, after a slight dip in interest a few years ago. You can get a complete overview of fashion trends, and designing for fashion, go to StartingaClothingLine.com.