A certain “It was much better before”! theme seemed to surround the showcases held at Milan and Paris, this past fashion week.
Taking a closer look at the current socio-political climate prevalent across the globe, it isn’t uncommon to feel misplaced as though darker, gloomier times were upon us. Our designers reacted in conjunction to this feeling of impending gloom by communicating a bright, dreamy, carefree and joyful attitude through their Spring/Summer 2018 collections.
It is eminent to note here that, designers prefer to romanticize days gone past instead of having to face the reality of present times, hence it was no wonder that nostalgia emerged as a big theme this season. Some would debate that fashion at its core is cyclical, but brands have been successful in revisiting nostalgia by presenting collections that infuse new techniques through cuts and textures.
In recent times, veteran fashion houses have been found juggling with appointments, hiring fresh talent to further continue the heritage long associated with brands by injecting newer ideas. A critical, but risky move because one bad debut can cost you years of investments gone into building your brand image and the client. Every design house maintains a loyal customer base who has signed up for a legacy and aesthetic the brand has come to be known for.
Thankfully, recent takeovers at Mugler, Givenchy, Paco Rabbane and Vivienne Westwood proved to be clever by tapping into the audience of today and what it wants.
In 2017, a show, with no matter how many interesting pieces it has to boast, or the designer lineage it follows, is still not a success if it’s not ‘socially’ viable.
Presentations today are more of a marketing tool and especially so for emerging brands that are yet to establish a foothold within the industry. Each and everything under the sun now speak in Insta-hit and snap-worthy terms, the more grammable your offering, the higher your chance to become famous overnight.
Thom Browne’s tale of magical fantasies full of unicorns and magic wands paired with epic proportions and anatomical references, Chanel’s background landscape of mountains and waterfalls, Moncler’s arrestingly sparkly disco balls and ballet dancers – the booming digital age has given rise to opulent and larger-than-life set productions.
Sometimes it falls in line with the collections and sometimes it doesn’t as clearly. But, collections full of proppy references with the addition of thematic ambiences surely make for a 300+ likes picture. And that is exactly what the consumer today is looking for – a little walk away from the grim reality that surrounds… a sense of escapism, even though short-lived – whatever it takes to reconnect with that innate sense of child-like wonder.
What remains to be seen is whether such investments lead to the kind of returns designers expect to transpire from these presentations and whether social media actually generates a loyal fan base that actually spends…, because at the end of the day, it’s all about money, honey.
FFT analyses and compiles the stand out trend directions in print, silhouettes, detail, colour and style from the runways of Milan and Paris for Spring/Summer 2018 which are as folows …
