After a winter of puff jackets and timberland boots and a summer of crop tops and bumbags you might be pleased to hear that the nineties trend has taken a backseat (unless you are a frequenter of raves and a drum and bass fiend). However, buckle up for a plethora of other decade driven trends…
Firstly, seventies style is big news: suede, fringing, peasant blouses…the works. The eighties revival seems to have been lingering about since 2008 and really shows no sign of dying – ruffles, velvet, sequins were all over the a/w 2015 catwalks. The time period takes a dramatic leap back with the gothic victoriana vibe black floor length gowns at Alexander McQueen and Givenchy. In other news, bold art-prints were everywhere and should provide an easy way to update an outfit for the new season ahead. Okay, so enough of the catwalk overview: how does this translate to the high street and what is everyone actually wearing this season?
A pretty easy one to add into your everyday wardrobe is the seventies trend. The girls rocking the nineties look are hanging up the calvin klein tee-shirts and slowly transitioning into more seventies wear – mostly via denim. Flares are cropping up pretty much everywhere, replacing the mom jean as the go-to trend conscious pair of jeans and for those ingenious enough to work out how to make them winter appropriate, the summer’s denim overalls and pinafores should still be on trend. Those among you who didn’t buy into overalls or pinafores this summer have another opportunity in the next coming months, with the added bonus of being able to purchase them in corduroy, which is becoming a sure hit with advocates of the seventies trend. No need to panic, the beautifully convenient crop top is definitely here to stay (it looks fantastic on a night out with some flares) and as a side note, another integral fabric for this look is suede. When thinking suede, it’s important to adopt a “go hard or go home” type mentality. You need suede. Skirts, jackets, shoes should all be suede. Preferably with fringing.
Scrunchie fiends need not worry for the afore-mentioned eighties revival is keeping this micro-trend alive and supplying your going-out wardrobe with a tonne of velvet, spandex and metallic accessories, as well as reiterating that big hair and leggings are never not a good look. After months of understatement, minimalism and norm core, it’s good to see the fashion world go a bit nuts – take full advantage of this license to dress like Cyndi Lauper and dance around wildly to Kate Bush. This spirit of excess is carried into the dominant trends dictating the designs of the most important aspect of winter dressing: outerwear. Ankle grazing coats are BIG news. If you don’t look like a possible flasher, you’ve missed the point. Another big trend is the fake-fur coat which first emerged last winter but has since been championed by the likes of Stella McCartney on the a/w 15 catwalks. If you like strutting around like a 1950s movie siren, this is the look for you.
And it’s not just fake fur that’s driving fashion designers wild, the craze for animal print has reached fever pitch: leopard print coats, zebra print leggings and cheetah print boots all promise to add a touch of excitement to autumn/ winter.
However, there is an alternative to all this madness. If you need an easy solution to dressing stylishly (and want to look mildly intimidating) then look no further than Berlin street style. The trick to this is to team as much black as possible with dark lipstick and get in on the long coat trend. Invest in as much leather as your student loan can stretch to, feign an interest in hard techno and break out the adidas superstars. Winter dressing sorted.
All photos are from Zara TRF Campaign AW15