Sugar coated
This year’s trends have been somewhat topsy-turvey; Summer’s traditional colours are bright and vibrant. However this year, the prevailing mood was monochrome, care of Marc Jacobs as Louis Vuitton. Heidi Slimane’s summer offering at Saint Laurent was inky black, like witches celebrating the summer solstice. To address the balance, winter trends are travelling a more sugar-coated path. The dominant colours for Autumn/Winter are soft pinks, powder blues, mint greens and buttery creams. On a dark winter day, what better to lift spirits and lighten your mood than with beautifully soft, comforting pastel shades?
The key to this trend is to ground a naive colour palate with mature hues to create a playful yet sophisticated look. Jonathan Saunders mixed dusky pink and furious red; colours that traditionally have no business sharing the same outfit. However, with Saunders’ consummate craftsmanship, the effect was both deeply feminine and soaked in sophistication.
At Carven the colours were the saccharine baby pinks and blues. The childlike shades were counterbalanced with tailoring that was all woman. The combination of super-soft colours, edgy accessories and hyper-femme lines created a compelling collection that in turn has spawned a cult of desirability. The coats and dresses from Carven’s A/W 13 collection are already high up on the wish-list of fashion editors and buyers alike.
At Rochas, the look was demure and ladylike. Power blues and nudes were offset with shades of russet and brown. Skirt lengths were prim, neck-lines were high and the styling was tastefully understated. These winter pastels are strictly for ladies of refinement. The Rochas collection oozed chic elegance; these are self-assured, grown up clothes to be worn by a contemporary Grace Kelly.
The beauty of winter pastels is their break with tradition; it may seem incongruous to be lusting after clothes with colours of spring blossom as the summer is coming to an end. However, fashion can very easily become repetitive and stale – it’s not that designers don’t have new ideas; they’re overflowing with fresh concepts and inspired visions. The challenge is to create something new that women actually want to buy. By switching traditional colour palettes and challenging the established order in a subtly subversive way, designers get us to consider the way we dress with fresh insight.
Get the look: Red snake print pencil skirt, TKMaxx pale blue silk blouse £14.99, TKMaxx Blue Leather Front Sleeveless Top £9.99, TKMaxx beige black pink zip colour block dress £14.99, TKMaxx blue saddle bag £14.99 RRP £24.00, Polka dot shoes £129, Kelly Love Parisian Sunrise coat £520, Maroon Pony Skin boots from mifani.com, £149, TKMaxx peach silk shirt £14.99, TKMaxx pink peg leg trousers £19.99, Maroon Leather skirt, from Muubaa £190
