While some attendees grumbled about boring shows and uninspired collections, a trove of unusually wearable clothes were on display for fall 2012 at New York Fashion Week. Call it the Kate Middleton effect, but no longer are designers catering to just their most cutting-edge customers. Instead, anyone with a cable knit or a closet stocked with leather can join in.
Closely Knit: Despite this year’s mild winter, designers didn’t shy away from featuring snow-ready wares. Indeed, it was the humble cable knit sweater that provided the biggest surprise during New York Fashion Week. Derek Lam paired his with red carpet-worthy skirts, dressing up the traditionally dowdy wardrobe staple, while Yigal Azrouël’s exaggerated knit links and chains were used to create discreet cut-outs (and, perhaps a bit of circulation should it get too hot). At 3.1 Phillip Lim, the sweater was worn upside down, and seemingly inside-out, adding a post-modernist twist. But few designers paid homage to the iconic pattern like Tommy Hilfiger, who showed a trompe l’oeil cable knit dress.
Every traveler knows that packing light is a talent worth perfecting. Meeting TSA weight regulations requires patience, versatility and an exceptional display of restraint—which means items like wooden-heeled platform shoes and War and Peace are best left home. Innovative new luggage designs, however, are making packing less stressful by provoking a minimalist, utilitarian aesthetic that seems intended to send packrats scurrying.
Tumi Tegra-Lite: To create its new Tegra-Lite line of ultra-lightweight, sleekly contoured luggage, Tumi enlisted Milliken, a producer of plastics that counts race car builders and football gear designers among its clients. This high-tech collaboration required Tumi to overhaul its design process. Milliken’s super-strong Tegris composite isn’t pressed and stretched like the luggage brand’s traditional method of shaping; rather, it’s cut into sheets and folded to maintain the bonds that make up a lattice of highly durable plastic. The result is a 65-percent lighter rolling bag that’s built to withstand the battery of frequent travel. This is one suitcase that’s ready to get down to business.
As the Internet democratizes everything from fashion (see: any of the hundreds of street style blogs) to high art (Exhibition A makes Olaf Breuning pieces available to the masses), it was only a matter of time before the beauty world became equally accessible. Whether it’s using social networking to help users find a new face wash or facilitating connections with hair stylists, a handful of new digital platforms are, literally, sitting pretty.
Bloom.com: For women who are turned off by pushy salespeople who don’t know a blusher from a bronzer, Bloom.com is their haven. The new website combines the best of online retail and social networking. After completing a survey to make a personal profile, shoppers are connected with relevant product reviews from like-minded members. Also, they can search top products among friends and across Bloom.com users as a whole. Although the site is always adding new brands, the roster is already impressive: The 100-plus options range from Neutrogena to Yves Saint Laurent. And if it turns out that one’s online friends aren’t all that helpful, there’s a 365-day return policy.
There was a time when “carpetbagger” was used pejoratively, but this season designers just might take it as a compliment. From varsity jackets to roomy rucksacks, the key textile components for many contemporary designers are floor pieces. Whether it’s in the form of a ratty oriental rug or an intricate kilim tapestry, it seems that fashion is embarking on a magic carpet ride.
The Kilim Project: After a recent trip through the Middle East, German design collective A Kind of Guise returned to Munich with 50 kilim rugs. The flat tapestry carpets, all hand woven and some dating back to the early 19th century, proved far too attractive to keep on the floor, so the designers turned them into rucksacks. Each of the limited edition bags are accented with leather bottoms, a thick rope drawstring, and a shoulder strap. A Kind of Guise is not the only brand to use the home decor accent for carryalls—Hollywood stylist-turned-bag designer Simone Camille launched a series of leather bags featuring woven rectangular textiles—but theirs might be the most global.
For those still slacking on their holiday shopping (you know who you are), may we make a suggestion? Fashion denim line J Brand has created three limited edition colors of its famous skinny fit jeans: Apache (a warm khaki), Vine (a dark olive), and Plumberry (a dark saturated fuchsia). Even better than the fact that they’re among the most universally flattering jeans around is that 100% of the net proceeds are going to City Year, a nonprofit organization that partners with public schools to provide full-time targeted intervention for students most at risk of dropping out.
Giving your loved one the gift of her new favorite jeans while also helping keep kids in school is a win-win, but those members of the fairer sex shouldn’t feel bad about picking up a pair for themselves, either. A little self-gifting never hurt anyone, especially when it’s in the name of charity, right?
P.S. – Trendcentral will be recharging its batteries over the next two weeks. Publication will resume on January 3rd. Happy holidays, and we’ll see you next year!
