FASHION Magazine

The nostalgic nineties may have transfixed us for the past seasons, but come Spring 2015, fashion’s got an all-new decade of choice. Let’s hear it for bellbottoms, sexy silks and peasant blouses because the seventies are back. And while disco may be the first image that comes to mind when thinking ‘70s style, this season’s […]

The post Spring Fashion 2015: 189 photos of the top 10 trends of the season appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

See the entire Fall fashion 2014 trend report »

From the food aisles to a galaxy far, far away, Fall 2014’s fashion narrative is just as varied as the many women who’ll likely fall for its manifold charms.

Call it the Lorde effect (or blame it fashion’s ever-growing obsession with Game of Thrones), but designers across all four major fashion cities seemed to fall under the dark spell of moody heroines. At Dolce & Gabbana, dresses were made to scrape that forest floor. At Valentino, capes shrouded the wicked and at Rodarte and Preen, Star Wars prints were made for the modern day Princess Leia.

View by trend: DARK ROMANCE | SWEATER DRESSING | STATEMENT OUTERWEAR | RED, ORANGE & PINK | OPTIC PRINTS | FUR | MIDI SKIRT | UTILITY | SURFACE DETAIL | ACCESSORIES

And while normcore may have mounted last season’s defence to street style’s increasing zaniness, Fall fashion 2014 is rife with ways to make statements. Flashbulbs will no doubt capture this season’s array of larger than life outerwear, from the utilitarian parkas on Alexander Wang’s robotic runway to Burberry’s painterly blanket coats. Meanwhile, fur was back with a brightly hued vengeance, ombréd at both Tom Ford and Marc Jacobs, and in Crayola checks at Altuzarra. At Lanvin and Marni, fur was layered in wrap form over everything from short suits to sweatshirts.

This season’s accessories are especially light-hearted, with everything from a McDonalds Happy Meal to a carton of milk inspiring fall fashion 2014’s bags at Moschino and Chanel respectively. There were fur muffs at Tory Burch, crystal-incrusted snoods at Alexander McQueen and knee-highs á la Vivian Ward at Versace and sneakers once again staking their claim at Chanel.

If there ever were a time to pick your poison, it would be now.

See the sneakers photoshoot » Whether metallic, embellished or minimal, the newest sneakers are meant to be worn for work or play. In this Twister-themed photo shoot from the August issue, we take a few of this season’s styles for a spin. Are you game?  

The post From the August issue: Sneakers take the spotlight in this playful photo shoot appeared first on FASHION Magazine.

See the Lady 2.0 fashion shoot »
See the Spring 2014 lady trend »

This season’s early adopter likes her tops boxy, her prints arty and her pleats as plentiful as they can be. In this photo shoot from our March 2014 issue, we meet spring’s new woman: Lady 2.0.

See the latest from Milan »

Photography by Peter Stigter

Photography by Peter Stigter

Photography by Peter Stigter

Photography by Peter Stigter

Photography by Peter Stigter

1/5

Prada Fall 2014

Prada Fall 2014

2/5

Max Mara Fall 2014

Max Mara Fall 2014

3/5

Fendi Fall 2014

Fendi Fall 2014

4/5

Ports 1961 Fall 2014

Ports 1961 Fall 2014

5/5

Costume National Fall 2014

Photography by Peter StigterCostume National Fall 2014

Day Two of Milan fashion week started and ended with a laugh: Cara Delevingne opened the Fendi show carrying a furry Karl Lagerfeld doll while drones buzzed overhead. And Jeremy Scott closed the day with a send up of McDonalds, Chanel and Sponge Bob for his Moschino debut. In between there were lots of shoulder details, shearling and digi prints to note.

But it was the early 20^th century Constructivist art movement that turned out to be the word of the day. If it’s been a while since your last art history class, here’s a refresher. Constructivism is the early 20^th century avant-garde movement characterized by abstract geometry. But it’s the description I found on the MoMa website that I want to focus on, one that depicts Constructivism as precise, impersonal, and having a clear formal order.

Now have a look at some of the abstract geometry from day two of the Milan shows:

See the top 5 Milan Fashion Week trends for Spring 2014 »

And just like that, another batch of Spring 2014 shows have come and gone. It’s hard to believe, but hey, that’s fashion! We’re geting down to business and recapping the top 5 trends our of Milan Fashion Week for Spring 2014. Get ready, kids!

Photography by Peter Stigter

Photography by Peter Stigter

Photography by Peter Stigter

Photography by Peter Stigter

Photography by Peter Stigter

Photography by Peter Stigter

Photography by Peter Stigter

Photography by Peter Stigter

Photography by Peter Stigter

Photography by Peter Stigter

1/10

Prada Spring 2014

BLING

One of the biggest thing we saw in almost every collection was the use of embellishments. Collections got more impressive as the week progressed as designers seem to follow the same philosophy when it came to bling–go big or go home. Models at Prada came equipped with bedazzled bras that were shown over-top their looks (some sewn right into the garment). Roberto Cavalli’s uber-embellished collection looked somewhat influenced by The Great Gatsby but he still managed to maintain the underlying boho vibe he’s so well known for to produce (what we think) was one of his best collections yet. Aquilano.Rimondi and Marni both used similar 3D intricacies as Prada but in a way that was unique to their individual aesthetic. At Pucci, the pieces got progressively heavier and even embodied Balmain-esque bedazzlement while Fausto Puglisi fully embellished some pieces entirely on one side while the other side remained entirely clean.

Prada Spring 2014

2/10

Aquilano Rimondi Spring 2014

BLING

Aquilano Rimondi Spring 2014

3/10

Versace Spring 2014

LOOSE SILHOUETTES

We have seen fashion really transform over the last few season as women’s collections are taking on a whole new form. Silhouettes are looser, flat shoes are cool again and boxiness has replaced form fit. Even designers who are traditionally known to be sexy (here’s looking at you, Versace) have realized that fashion, at least for right now, has evolved into something more relaxed. It definitely doesn’t mean that they have taken out this word from the equation; in fact the Italians seemed to have perfected the balance of masculine and feminine with the latter still being the hero. Bare midriffs and tops with clever cut-outs were often paired with straight skirts or high waisted pants and boxy leather jackets. Pant silhouettes, when present, were structured yet slouchy and most often cropped while some designers opted to skip pants altogether and focus on predominantly skirts and dresses (Miuccia being one of them); even crop tops were structured and loose. Whether the male population likes it or not, women’s fashion has now taken on a boyish charm and the term feminine has defined itself in a new, more modern way.

Versace Spring 2014

4/10

Dolce Gabbana Spring 2014

LOOSE SILHOUETTES

Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2014

5/10

Jil Sander Spring 2014 Shoe

THE UN-PRETTY SHOE

Though heels are still present on the runway, footwear has evolved with the new direction that fashion has taken in the last few seasons. Shoes are oddly quirky, slightly heavy and seemingly masculine and nowhere was this more obvious than in Milan this past week. At Prada, the shoes were almost reminiscent of a suped up Birkenstock while Marni’s layered flip flop looked Asian inspired. Jil Sander had more of a chunky, rounded Oxford and even Emporio Armani went for a masculine flat. Although each designer’s footwear varied from one collection to the next, they all cleverly complemented each collection in their own way.

Jil Sander Spring 2014

6/10

Prada Spring 2014

THE UN-PRETTY SHOE

Prada Spring 2014

7/10

Fendi Spring 2014

BOLD HUES

As always, spring runways are full of light and bright colours and this season is no exception. Several of the Italian designers are playing up the punch by injecting colour in a bold way. Fendi kicked off its show with punchy laser cut tiered dresses (five of which were beautifully sketched in colour by Karl himself and distributed to each seat) while Max Mara chose to punch up a mainly neutral collection with a lineup of lollipop-coloured looks-solid from head to toe. Prada is in a level by itself this season and Miuccia gave a face to her collection (literally) by splashing color into every piece right down to the socks. Aquilano.Rimondi also intelligently used embellishments and bold prints to inject color into the collection.

8/10

Max Mara Spring 2014

BOLD HUES

Max Mara Spring 2014

9/10

Costume National Spring 2014

Black and white

On the flip side, many of the Milan collections still had a predominant black and white colour palette. Costume National, Jil Sander, Ports and Marni all had a strong base of black and white pieces so those of us who opt to gravitate towards more basic, minimal colours have nothing to be worried about.

10/10

Marni-Spring-2014

See our all-black makeup picks! »

It is always darkest before the dawn, so the proverb goes. By our calculations, the sun should be rising on planet fashion any day now: the Fall 2012 runways plunged us into a cavernous black hole of clothes worthy of Louise Brooks and Siouxsie Sioux, and haunting beauty looks that referenced Tim Burton’s films. That mood also infected the making of Lady Gaga’s fragrance, Fame. “I like black, especially what it has to do with fame, because it is a veil,” she says, tapping her knife-like ebony talons on the table at a hotel in New York. “It’s sort of like saying, ‘I don’t want you to see something.’” The R&D department struggled to create the noir-hued perfume that turns clear once airborne—an industry first. (Rumour has it one staff member was inspired when he spotted a bottle of black vodka behind the bar while out for a drink.) The request for an ominously coloured juice was music to the ears of its perfumer, Richard Herpin. It meant he didn’t have to exclude ingredients that can be visually unappealing when mixed together. “I could use anything I wanted,” he says. As fashion has taught us, black hides a multitude of sins.

View the sleeve and shoulder trend in action »

We need to talk about sleeves. Shoulders too, but first sleeves.

There is a majorly mannish tailoring trend forming at the Fall 2012 shows in Paris, but what keeps it from being dull is that the designers are having fun with sleeves.

Givenchy’s Riccardo Tisci cut his sleeves short and wide for boxy jackets and colour-blocked furs. We’ll surely be seeing these goods on Alicia Keys and the other stars who were in his front row.

There were striped knit sleeves on wool coats at Kenzo (made ultra-cool thanks to designers and Opening Ceremony co-founders Humberto Leon and Carol Lim).

It’s not every day that you get to play host to a living, breathing masterpiece! The Canadian Art Foundation was lucky enough to showcase Yugoslavian performance artist Marina Abramovic, who was in Toronto for the Canadian premiere of The Artist is Present at the Reel Artists Film Festival. The new documentary film chronicles her prolific and often painful career and follows the preparation for her 2010 retrospective show at the MoMA—she spent more than 700 hours over the course of three months staring into the eyes of museum visitors. Beyond her lifelong love affair with performance art, Abramovic is a designer devotee (having discovered fashion after a particularly nasty breakup); in the film, she’s shown shopping at Givenchy with none other than Riccardo Tisci. It’s no surprise then that the 65-year-old wore head-to-toe Costume National to the premiere, or that she counts Fashion Television’s Jeanne Beker as a fan. At the a swank soiree, held at the TIFF Bell Lightbox and bookended by not one but two cocktail parties, we spotted a smattering of guests from Canada’s creative set including Luminato’s Jörn Weisbrodt (who also made an appearance in the film), the Beckerman clan, and gallery owner Daniel Faria.

View the photo gallery »

Glossy extras put a modern twist on a classic black-and-white pairing. Check out our favourites.

View our editors’ picks »

By Sarah Casselman and Susie Sheffman

From swinging ’60s to cowgirl chic, the hot looks
and perfect pieces you need for fall.

View the runway report now »

View by trend: Colour | Strict Rules | Tux Luxe | Flash Mob | Mod Squad
True Grit | Geometry Class | Accessories

Karl Lagerfeld isn’t the only mega-designer to sign up for a collaboration with Macy’s. Vivienne Westwood, Calvin Klein, Costume National and Versace will also be putting out capsule collections for the American department store. [WWD]

Barney’s creative director Simon Doonan has some wedding style advice for princess-to-be Kate Middleton: cut your hair short and wear a Victoria Beckham-designed wedding dress. [Slate]