FASHION Magazine

  • Night vision: We take a closer look at Fall’s darkest and most dominant trend

    by Sarah Casselman
    Night Vision
    From left: Ann Demeulemeester, Andrew Gn, Gareth Pugh Fall 2012. Photography by Peter Stigter.

    The new wave of head-to-toe black looks in slick leathers and decadent fabrics casts a dark shadow over the season.

    See this trend on the runway »

    Twilight has fallen over spring’s garden of flirty ’50s looks, light-as-air fabrics and sugar-dusted pastels. Fall 2012 takes fashion in a darker direction, more easily defined by a mood than a trend. Black, in all its textural incarnations (patent leather, velvet, wool, fur, satin) rolled over the runways from New York to Paris like an impending storm cloud, urging us to take cover. But are these dark clothes for dark times? We haven’t experienced this level of sartorial sobriety since Fall 2009, when austerity reigned supreme as the result of a volatile stock market. This season, coverage is king (again) but there’s an underlying strength and sexiness to it this time around. 

    Call it the Rooney Mara effect: Gareth Pugh, Riccardo Tisci and Ann Demeulemeester channelled Stieg Larsson’s anti-heroine, Lisbeth Salander, with their strict, second-skin leather looks. No ink or piercings required, just confidence with a capital C. At Pugh, there were loads of skinny leather trousers; at Givenchy, a body-con turtleneck dress that flared below the hips looked like it was composed of latex; and at Demeulemeester, construction, shape and architecture leapt from the shadows into the spotlight. Part apocalyptic warrior, part goth, part badass hacker, this moody message also contains whispers of the erotic, as witnessed at Viktor & Rolf’s partial peep show. Jean Paul Gaultier brought street style to a dark place, pairing a deconstructed two-tone moto jacket with a razor-sharp pencil skirt. Donatella Versace resurrected the idea of protection with her lineup of crucifix-embellished coats and sweaters, chain-mail dresses and armour-like corsets. These sinfully good elements were reminiscent of her late brother’s final collection in 1996. Clearly, sex and religion never go out of style.

    Posted in Andrew Gn, Ann Demeulemeester, Black, Black Lace, Capes, Fall 2012, Fall 2012 trend report, Gareth Pugh, Leather, Print edition, September 2012, Sex, Style

  • Daily steal: Lace stockings, $20

    by Jordan Porter

    Black lace stockings will make that LBD pop! ($20, guess.ca)

    The post Daily steal: Lace stockings, $20 appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

    Posted in Black Lace, Black Lace Stockings, Daily steal, Guess, LBDs, Stockings, Style