spring 14 RTW: top 10 main trends

Louis Vuitton Show

The fashion week round for S14 is officially over. Now it is to us to extract all the juices out of the so very fruitful fashion scenario presented over the past few weeks.

It is no little work, so hands on the top 10 trends without further delay!

1. IT IS ALL BLACK OR WHITE

Catwalks on all main Fashion cities have been dominated by this classic yet infallible pairing.

Alexander Wang
Derek Lam
Diane von Furstenberg
Ralph Lauren
Erdem

Matthew Williamson
Aquilano. Rimondi
Missoni
Dsquared2
Chanel

2. PUMP UP THE VOLUME

Extreme contrasts have not only been noticeable in colour, shapes and volumes have played a crucial part too. There is no more skinny pant and fitted tank; dreamy, bubbly shapes on flowy tops, ruffly lines penciling an unimaginable shape around the female body.

Mary Katrantzou
Custo Barcelona
Delpozo
Zac Posen

Temperley London
Tom Ford
Alberta Ferretti
Alexis Mabille

One of the most remarkable facets of this volume explosion is the detachment from the body line; there is a major tendency to wrap legs loosely in haremy, baggy-ish trousers and complement it with gorgeous floaty tops. The Spring 14 silhouette leaves it all to imagination.

Tod's
Elie Saab
Hermès
Valentino

Burberry Prorsum
Matthew Williamson
Dolce & Gabbana
Max Mara

3. TWIN SET NOSTALGIA

Growing up, my sister and I would always wear these "combos" where top and bottom were the same pattern, fabric and style. Of course after we got deep into adolescence, we sent those to exile for they were the antithesis of cool at the time. Well, just like everything 90s is coming back strong, so are these lovely matchy-matchy outfits, as proven by designers all over the globe.

Antonio Marras
Dolce & Gabbana
Alexander McQueen
Chanel
Giambattista Valli
Aquilano. Rimondi

Diane von Furstenberg
Michael Kors
Zimmermann
Emilio de la Morena
Simone Rocha
Roland Mouret

4. START WORKING THOSE ABS

Yes, unfortunately for many of us, low-waisted pants seem to march towards their lost throne, ready to reconquer it as the next best thing.

Isabel Marant
Kenzo
Paul & Joe
Zadig & Voltaire

Helmut Lang
Peter Som
Tommy Hilfiger
Topshop Unique

Not only are waists going lower, but tops maintain last seasons trend and remain short, if not shorter, to the point of becoming bandeaus.

Trussardi
Badgley Mischka
Calvin Klein
Erdem

5. SHEER MY DEAR

Lace and sheer textures have been present on catwalks for the past couple of seasons and already take over street outfits. However, they don't seem to be willing to disappear, and some gorgeous proposals state it.

Burberry Prorsum
Simone Rocha
Tom Ford
Antonio Marras
Nina Ricci

6. MILLE-FEUILLE, S'IL VOUS PLAIT!

Yes, mille-feuille (that lovely French pastry that I will roughly translate as "thousand-layers"), is my metaphor for this trend, very commonly seen on Fall and Winter catwalks, but not so much on Spring Summer. Piling on clothes has never looked so fresh and graceful.

Altuzarra
Richard Nicoll
Etro
Antonio Marras
Sonia Rykiel

7. WIZARDRY ATIRE

Anyone thinking that wearing a cloak is quintessentially wintery (and a bit out of date)? Well Spring 14 catwalks prove otherwise, for the cloak as we understand it is reshaped as a train on coats, skirts and even blouses. Capes and extra-long jackets are a few of the pieces that will make us crave for that cloaky floatyness next Spring.

Trusardi
Giambattista Valli
Barbara Bui

Haider Ackermann
Paul & Joe
Valentino
Yohji Yamamoto

Band of Outsiders
DKNY
Antonio Marras

8. PRINT AND PATTERN

It would be a bit of a generalisation saying Spring catwalks have been dominated by prints, as there have been entire collections of plain, monochrome garments. It is nonetheless undeniable prints have had a significant protagonism. So significant, actually, that it would be unfair to simply mingle them together under one single category.

Flower boom

Fair enough, it sounds redundant to say there are floral patterns on a Spring collection, but the take on florals for Spring 14 is not the sweet and lovely English Rose approach, it is a fresh, strong, even sexual and certainly full of character adoption of this bucolic theme.

Christopher Kane
Jonathan Saunders
L'Wren Scott
Vivienne Westwood

Kaleidoscope  

Irresistible vibrant colours and mirrory, geometrical shapes take over fabrics and garments to make you look and look again.

House of Holland
Hervé Légér
Peter Pilotto
Preen by Thornton Bregazzi
Aquilano. Rimondi

Folk

Call it Mexican, Spartan, Western, folklore is the compilation of a culture's most significant features, and Spring 14 catwalks are a celebration of folk in all its splendour.

Dries Van Noten
Givenchy
Hermès
Jean-Charles de Castelbajac

Alberta Ferretti
Etro
Emilio Pucci
MSGM

Graphic doodles

Designers like Custo Dalmau or David Delfín are well known for walking their first steps on catwalks with their fantastically imaginative doodle designs on their pieces. The hand-drown-motive effect gives any garment a vibrancy and state of currency that hardly any other print can provide. And since we live in the age of DIY, where every other person can find rather professional tutorials on YouTube on how to customise their pieces, it comes as no surprise that Spring 14 collections reflect some of that hand-made energy.

Prada
Céline
Jean-Charles de Castelbajac
Miu Miu

Jungle

It is hard to tell whether the animal print presence on catwalk comes as the last strokes of a very stale trend, or that the so very old-newsy trend starts to see a renaissance via new, refreshing interpretations like the jaw-dropping Valentino proposal. What do you think is the case?

Valentino
Dsquared2

9. FINE ARTS, FINEST FASHION

Art and fashion are so closely related it is sometimes hard to tell where one ends and the other begins. Just a quick example, almost too obvious: Mondriaan dress. Well the last couple of seasons we have witnessed how fashion was getting inspiration on classic art, a sort of re-renaissance. The maximum exponent of this must be Dolce & Gabbana, that have kept us all in "awe" with their past collections; such baroqueness, horror vacui, Sicilian-ness and exquisit, painting-like designs. Well, it seems like many other designers have joined the arty team, and the results are absolutely delightful.

Dolce & Gabbana
Sonia Rykiel
Carolina Herrera

Anna Sui
Vivienne Westwood
Diane von Furstenberg
Delpozo

DKNY
Oscar de la Renta
House of Holland
Aquilano. Rimondi

10. COLOUR

It is impossible to list a top 10 of Spring trends and not mention the colours for the season. And for Spring 14, if there is an undeniable colour that has dominated Spring 14 catwalks, that has to be white. We mentioned before how black and white was the mainstream pair, well white beats it all. Me being a girl who adores white, I still find it a bit sad to bet it all on white for the flowery, colourful season. That said, I am jumping straight onto second position on the rank:

Metal-Baby Pink (or Radiant Orchid, as was later named by Pantone)

Warm, chewing gum pink was a hit for AW13 and it was nothing but logical that a fellow shade would mark the forthcoming season. The pink shade featured in most fashion shows has been however a much colder, sweet, metallic pink, perfect for the warm season.

Roberto Cavalli
Balmain
Christian Dior
John Galliano
Sonia Rykiel

Prabal Gurung
Emilio de la Morena
Preen by Thornton Bregazzi
Emporio Armani
Just Cavalli

Royal, Sapphire, pastel... just make it Blue

In every collection that was almost monochromatic or bi-chromatic (talk Gareth Pugh and his ever-lasting love for black) the highlight piece to break monotony was blue. Mainly royal blue, but no rejections to turquoise, pastel, navy...

Paco Rabanne
Rochas
Yohji Yamamoto

Gareth Pugh
Haider Ackermann
Issey Miyake
Nina Ricci

Emerald Green

This trend was less mainstream on catwalk, but yet I find it will be very popular, even on Fall 14 if Spring doesn't catch on. An absolutely gorgeous shade, very intriguing and defining of the modern woman.

Topshop Unique
Dolce & Gabbana
Hermès
Valentino

Well, there the top 10 trends for Spring 14 as presented on New York, London, Milan and Paris fashion weeks. Very promising and classy proposals that will sure give eye-catching results on street style.

Stay tuned for there is so much more to analyse on these past fashion weeks! Upcoming posts on hair, beauty and my forecasts for Fall-Winter 14-15.

Enjoy the trends and follow your gut!