Trends ss2010: women’s accessories

Next summer large necklaces (and wearing multiple ones) seem to be the it-item for women. These necklaces could be seen at fashion shows of Vivienne Westwood, Bottega Veneta, Barbara Bui, Byblos, Oscar de la Renta, Dolce & Gabbana, Donna Karan, Badgley Mischka and Moschino.

Another accessory that kept popping up was a handbag that the models literally wore in their hands. Sometimes it had a belt to carry the bag on their shoulders but they still kept them in their hands.

One special handbag at the Alexander McQueen fashion show resembled a bowling ball. The model had to put her fingers in it to carry it.

Eye-catching accessories were the Blumarine jewelry that looked like children’s jewelry, some magnificent hair accessories at Chanel, a belt-like bracelet at Blugirl, an ant-necklace at Dsquared, and some pearl bracelets and plastic flower corsages at Galliano.

Apart from these accessories most collections were very sober. The designers let their clothes speak for themselves, without all the fuss added.

Trends ss2010: flower power

Since we feel the overall vibe of femininity  for next spring,  the floral prints we spotted fit perfectly in with that. The flowers were usually small ones, repeated hundreds of times on the fabric.

At the Jackson and Moschino fashion show it were Oxeye daisies. Yet other designers (Yves Saint Laurent, Luella Bartley, Oscar de la Renta, Dolce & Gabbana) used rose prints. Viktor & Rolf didn’t have floral prints in their clothes but they did use roses to decorate their pink boots.

Overall the flowers had a very classic feeling to it. The way they were painted and the colors that were used really felt like your grandmother’s wallpaper.

The prettiest floral prints were those of Dolce & Gabbana. Their perfect shapes and colors could be seen on r dresses, shorts, tops, jackets and lingerie. In one look a floral printed skirt was even mixed with a leopard printed top. Both with black lace on the edges.

The ss2010 collections lack lots of color, but the florals do add some brightness to next season.

Dutch Models: Mirte Maas

A new face conquered the catwalk during the last fashion weeks. It was the face of the Dutch model Mirte Maas. She is just seventeen years old, yet she participated in countless fashion shows for ss2010.

Mirte is signed with Women Management in New York (Kate Moss and Natasha Poly were also signed there), butalso  has contracts with modelling agencies in Milan and Paris.

During the New York fashion week Mirte was the first girl in the Alexander Wang fashion show. Although many people talked about her frightened look during the opening of that show, it didn’t stop her.

Later on we spotted Mirte in Milan and Paris at almost every big show. Roberto Cavalli, Chanel, Chloé, Fendi, Givenchy, Hermes, Marc Jacobs, Donna Karan, Michael Kors, Lagerfeld, Lanvin, Yves Saint Laurent, Marni, Missoni, Moschino, Prada, Nina Ricci and Valentino, to name a few (few? That’s a full agenda! It’s a wonder she was still looking fresh)

Style.com named Mirte Maas as one of the Ten New Faces in fashion. We’ll be seeing a lot more from her.

Groupielove #9

Practicing his signature brand of arty minimalism, Francisco Costa replaced the sharp angles and dark colors of his Fall collection with soft, organic shapes and light-reflecting neutrals. It made for a Spring collection more sensuous than  sexy—and more youthful in feeling than his recent efforts. He opened with a white one-sleeve bubble dress that, like the needle-punched nylon coat that came down the runway a few looks later, caught air behind the model as she walked. When he wasn’t experimenting with volume, Costa was creating interesting textures: smocking and puckering cotton voile for an A-line shift, or hand-pleating and pintucking an organdy dress. Playing natural off techno, and sheer against opaque, the designer sent out mohair jacquard tank dresses that shaded from black to brown to gray and revealed subtle swaths of skin. The only departure from the show’s earthy palette was a group of crinkled silk-cotton tank dresses and asymmetrical shifts in shades of pale aqua, citron, coral, and jade.

Groupielove # 7

Turning out refined day looks and eveningwear since 1981, the house of Herrera specializes in classic shapes (lean trousers, pencil skirts, A-line ball dresses, and nipped-waist jackets) stitched up in soigné silk faille and jacquard, luxurious taffeta and mink. In recent seasons, Oscar regulars like Renée Zellweger have splashed this most Park Avenue of labels with a starry dash of Hollywood Boulevard.

Carolina Herrera made a name for herself by dressing well before she began designing well. (And she is still recognized for her chic uniform of crisp white shirts and tailored black trousers.) She was born in 1939 to a family of Venezuelan aristocrats and, with her second husband, Reinaldo Herrera, partied with a coterie of 1970’s jet-setters that included Mick Jagger and Andy Warhol. Herrera landed on the International Best-Dressed List time and again during those years, and was named to its Hall of Fame in 1980. The same yearHerrera designed her first line of ready-to-wear as a “test.” She aced it.

Herrera was named the CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year in 2004, and in 2008 the organization gave her the Geoffrey Beene Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dutch models: Lara Stone

One of the Dutch Models that is internationally moving towards the top is Lara Stone. The daughter of a Dutch mother and a British father is doing well in the modelling industry. Ever since she signed with modelling agency IMG in 2006 she’s really breaking through.

For spring/summer 2010 we saw her in shows of Givenchy, Chanel, Miu Miu, Hermes and Prada. Yet she’s also doing well in photo shoots. The French Vogue payed a tribute to the Dutch model in their February issue of this year and The British Vogue recently named her Girl Of The Year. Stone appears in big photo shoots in major international fashion magazines, as if she was born for the modelling business.

Every big fashion brand wants her in their show or campaign. And although Lara Stone didn’t walk in the Louis Vuitton fashion show, she will feature in the SS2010 ad campaign of the brand. In this position she will follow up Madonna, who was the LV face for 2009.

It seems Stone will be one of the future super models. Will she be the next Kate Moss or Claudia Schiffer? Anyway, we’re very proud she is Dutch. 😀

Make-up trends ss2010: bright eyes

No smokey eyes next season, but bright colorful ones that really stand out and give you that summer-feeling.

The models’ eyes were painted in every color of the rainbow. At Dior they were purple, blue and green. At Fahri they came in a pastel green and purple combination. Galliano’s girls had pink eyes. Luella Bartley gave her models a thick layer of blue eye shadow, which even crossed their eyebrows.

At Issa the eyes were metallic green and at the Derek Lam fashion show they looked like little rainbows in orange, purple and green. Viktor & Rolf gave their models a mix of pastel-colored eye shadow as well; we saw pink, blue, purple and green. Those colors matched with the outfits from their SS2010 collection.

The combinations of many bright colors looked great on each of the models. So for next summer I think we can spice up our make up and try to create the same pastel-colored eye shadow look for ourselves. If you dare, use green and purple; they seem to be the main colors for 2010.

Trends ss2010: lace details

Although lace is usually only seen in lingerie or underwear, we were now confronted with  lace in all kinds of daywear  in many shows. The largest  fashionbrands like Chanel, Dior, D&G, Oscar de la Renta, Cavalli, Valentino and Galliano introduced their clothing for the summer of 2010 with loads of lace.

The lace mostly came in neutral shades like black, white or beige. Yet in the Dior show we saw some black mixed with bright colors, like purple or pink. Erdem showed a combination of blue and black. At the fashion show of Antonio Marras  lace was mintgreen. And the models at Nina Ricci wore it in nudes and navy blue.

Jenny Packham designed some great feminine dresses in white lace. Paola Frani came up with a stunning jumpsuit in black lace. Barbara Bui made a few wonderful black lace jackets and Jasper Conran’s lace dresses felt a little bit like wedingdresses. At the Chanel fashion show the models wore many layers, topped with lace.

The most outstanding lace designs were a white mini dress with puffy shoulders from Jill Stuart and an elegant lace dress and jacket from Oscar de la Renta.

Introducing lace as a new trend for summer seems perfect. The fabric is airy and comfortable and makes women feel and look very ladylike.

Trends ss2010: skinny pants

Although the first celebs are already wearing wide-legged jeans, the skinny trend continues. For spring/summer 2010 the long and skinny model legs were still accentuated by tight leggings or ulta skinny pants. Not in denim, but different kind of materials.

Often it was hard to distinguish a pant from a legging, as they were equally tight. The skinny pants were often combined with loosely-fitting long tops, blouses or jackets.

At the Balmain fashion show there were skinnies in black and (glittery) camouflage. Barbara Bui designed hers with fish scales. Balenciaga’s pants had leather details. The Burberry and the Ungaro pants were pleated from bottom to top. At the Chanel Fashion show the boys wore the same black/green skinny pants as the girls. Roberto and Eva Cavalli designed a pair of light and shiny trousers with horizontal tears. The skinny pants from Matthew Williamson, Tony Cohen, Givenchy and Versace had all kinds of  patterns.

Since the skinny pants and the loose-fitting tops make such a great outfit together, it’s not time yet for the wide pants to return.

Trends ss2010: braids

Past year braids made a huge comeback. We spotted them in different shapes and sizes on many celebrities. Later on the trend  the crowd picked up the trend.  Two small braids along each side of the face were popular, but also one large braid (around the head like a headband) and, of course, fishtail braids and French braids were re-introduced.

Judging from what we saw on the runway braids are still hot, like long loose and untidy braids at D Squared, Alexander Wang, Margaret Howell and Giambattista Valli. The models at Oscar de la Renta worked the braided headband. For those braids a piece of fabric was braided together with the model’s hair.

The girls at Paul Smith, Jean Paul Gaultier, Issa, Jaeger Londen and Zac Posen must have had had enormous headaches during the fashion show. Their hair was braided so tight, it hurt just to look at it.

At most fashion shows the models wore their hair down without any fuss. Yet several hair and make-up artists understood that braiding your hair can look very sexy and sophisticated as well. So if you haven’t mastered the French braiding technique yet, keep on practising it in front of your mirror, because you might need it next summer.

Tess van Daelen

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