Spring Fever 2013

The styles that you will see in department stores are often influenced by the designer collections featured on the runway. During the spring 2013 fashions shows, a few silhouettes, color schemes, and details were trending on the runway.

Here are some of the running themes of the designers, as seen on runway:

1. Opposites Attract: the trend of pairing black and white is not all that new, but you can see it used in several collections. When combing two colors together that have high contrast will make a bold statement. You can use the colors to create color blocking that will accentuate certain lines on the body.  Examples of this trend can be seen by Philip Lim and Jason Wu.

2. Ruffle Romance: using fabric to create a ruffle or a voluminous silhouette. Manipulating fabric to add height and width to parts of the body can make figures look sexy. Collections that featured this trend: Gucci, Givenchy, and Peter Pilotto

3.  Patchwork: Designers put together different patterns to create beautiful looks. You can combine stripes and prints, or different flower prints that have only color in common. Using the different patterns together can make a real interesting look of a basic silhouette. It creates a patchwork effect to the garment. Examples of this can see with designer like Preen and Bottega Veneta.

4. Sheer Beauty: flattering the body with layers of sheet fabric to create romantic looks.  Pair the sheer fabric with satin  or other sheer fabric can add a sexy “peek-a-boo” effect on the body. Designers like Rick Owens and Akris used sheer fabrics in their collections.

5. Suit Up: menswear inspired clothing for the woman. Suits were always associated with the man but when women began to wear suits, it became a liberating and empowering statement for the working woman.  Over the years, paired suiting has always been reinvented on the runway and this season you can see new interpretations in collections of Mary Katrantzou, Haider Ackermann and Calvin Klein. You can see the use of fabric, clean lines, and color were very important creating this look.

6.  Japanese Anime: using the Asian culture and art to inspire designers on the runway. Looking on the runway, you can see the influence of Asian prints on fabric, origami like manipulation of fabric, and traditional Japanese silhouettes that have influenced designers like Emilio Pucci and Aquilano Rimondi.

So when you shop this spring season, you will be able to see some of these trends inspiring department store windows and featured styles.

Happy Shopping!