Fall/Winter 2021 Fashion Month
It is a national holiday. It is everyone’s favorite time of the year. Is it Christmas? Nope. It’s fashion month!
This year, we kicked off Fall/Winter 2021 with a tribute to global fashion from past generations; where neon, pops of bold and bright colors, and texture are rethought into an array of eye-catching statement pieces for everyday use. I love nothing more than a bold, timeless look that will knock some sense into summer florals and fall neutrals. I have something to admit: I am so bored of being bored. Between quarantine and matching sweat sets there has been such a lack of excitement in the past few years. So, even if you think that some of the looks from this month were borderline tacky or too bold, you cannot tell me that you were bored for even a minute.
Texture was the name of the game this season. The sudden switch from bland to feathers, tulle, and faux fur is everything to me. Elie Saab illustrated a refined feather technique with his pastel rendition in Paris. Givenchy, Balenciaga, and Prada channeled their inner bear that looked so realistic and had a modern take on surviving the New York winters.
Even puffy dresses were prominent as seen in Molly Goddard’s collection of layered, tulle pieces that are my current obsession. Put me in a bright colored tulle gown and I will act as though I am a cottage-core princess on her way to meet the queen. No actually, I will act as the queen. Nicholas Ghesquière for Louis Vuitton and others took a more literal interpretation of these larger than life dresses, bringing back the bubble shape as a metaphor for social distancing to avoid getting sick. These puffy silhouettes elongate the legs and accentuate all things beautiful.
I also saw a huge increase in the saturation of colors on high fashion runways. The bright colors seen in Prabal Gurung and Claudia Li bring out the beautiful shades of swanky green, bubblegum pink and perhaps the most iconic color in fashion history: cerulean blue. Do these colors cross the tacky line? It is up to you. All I see are solid depictions of what the fashion industry needs during such a blah season.
From sweater dresses and chunky knits to debut on the city streets, to chalet style coats and quilted jumpsuits for on and off the slopes, designers took fall/winter quite literally. Now that it is finally becoming acceptable to vacation, there will be plenty of ways to wear the runway even in the downpour of snow. Chanel released a quilted jumpsuit demonstrating the brands timeless response to Moncler, North Face, and Prada’s coat phase. This piece makes me want to buy a one-way ticket to Aspen where I can flaunt my après ski attire. Even Casablanca’s collaboration with CURVYcon and Dior’s drop are preparing their buyers for the snow storm I like to call ice. Even Mui Mui, the leading slope style atelier, demonstrated their effortless layering techniques with skiwear over silk. Bring on the moon boots, ear muffs, and coats — yes I know it is seventy degrees in LA.
I am so pleased with what I saw down the runway this season. The designers did indeed create pieces that are able to withstand the pressures of the rest of 2021. Between Bettina Vermillion’s loud thigh highs, ALYX’s flashbacks, and the Alber Elba tribute show created the most magical moments that broke up the silence of this year.
xoxo-
annie
