Fashion Week 2017 Trend Guide

Fashion week is among us! Spring and Summer trends have been revealed by well established brands, newly emerging labels, and independent designers. Being “in the know” about upcoming trends is a huge plus; it gives you the advantage of knowing what to shop for before prices rise and everyone starts to wear the same thing. Also, as a college student, paying attention to upcoming trends allows for stocking up on items early, therefore leaving you fashionably a step ahead of your peers.

Fashion week also known as “market week”, occurs in some major international cities including, New York City, Paris, Milan, and London. This week is the designated time during the year when buyers, press, and the general public get to see the new lines and collections of designers. Throughout this week designers showcase their work through fashion shows (Alexander McQueen), trade shows (MAGIC), and showrooms (LA: Cooper Design Space & California Market Center). Fashion week is a huge event and everyone from fashion students and bloggers to celebrities and CEOs, look forward to and plan for fashion week months in advance. Everyone is anticipating what designers, both street wear and haute couture, have in store for the upcoming season. People want to be in the know and up to date with new trends, people want to be the first to know. Market week provides the public with a lot of information, there are many trends which are emulated though different designers. Whether your into fashion or not, we can agree that, that’s a lot of information to sift through and determine the more prominent trends. To minimize the stress of determining which trends are going to run ramped during the spring and summer seasons, we have come up with four categories which have shown up repeatedly during fashion week.

The Elevated Hoodie

Hoodies are a mainstream fashion item that one could never go wrong with. They’re comfortable and convenient, what more could you ask for in an item which is meant to keep you warm. But hoodies are beginning to become a bit played out, there isn’t really much that makes them too special. Designers took this concept and completely flipped it to get consumers excited about this trend once again. Designers such as Marc Jacobs and Vetements took the hoodie and made it feel new again, reawakening this tend which has fallen off. Marc Jacobs came up with a unique way to fuse both high and low aspects of his collection, his idea was to elevate the more ordinary items. To make them feel special, give the consumers a reason to want ordinary items from a designer brand rather then somewhere else. Jacobs collaborated with artist, Julie Verhoeven, whom he collaborated with previously in his Spring 2002 Louis Vuitton show. Verhoeven created unique illustrations which were then embroidered on to the sweatshirts as well as bags and shoes.

Vetements took a different approach to the sweatshirt trend. The aim in revamping this trend was to remain tasteful, playful, and sexy all at the same time. Sweatshirts typically cover up the body and are meant to warm the body, Vetements took this idea and turned it on its head. The idea is to reveal without overly revealing and completely changing the dynamic of the original hoodie we all know and love. They took an oversized sweatshirt approach and added a dash of femininity with the shoulder cut out. The idea behind this trend started with head designer, Demna Gvasalia. He wanted to take pre-existing fashions items and twist them. The brand looked to brands who make basic items such as hoodies, bomber jackets, and jeans the best. They asked to take those items, and change each item in a Vetements way. They worked with a classic Italian tailoring company, Brioni, who agreed to work with the brand in a process of gigantic oversizing, un-pressing seams, and fusing linings.

The elevated hoodie trend is definitely one to look out for if you’re looking to continue wearing a classic item with a unique flip.

The Modern Trench

Trench coats are classic, they give off a fashion forward and trend savvy appearance while maintaining a comfortable and care free feel. Having the best of both worlds are fashion items that are trendy and require little effort. This iconic fashion piece is so simple and easy to just throw on before starting the day and this season the trench has a whole new vibe to it. Everyone loves a good trench coat, they're chic, not too heavy, and good for the fall, but what about when its warmer outside. We still want the classiness of the trench but we need the aesthetic of a duster; that combination would answer all problems. Designers such as Monse listened and definitely delivered a new take on the timeless piece during Fashion Week 2017.

Monse is a startup brand in New York, known for their modern way of transforming classic men’s wear items into more feminine pieces. Their first collection started with the button up shirt, second collection was the suit, and their resort 2017 collection has a focus on the trench. The brand played with different concepts, such as changes in silhouette, to try and transform the classic trench. The brand took a unique approach to maintaining the identity of the trench but showcased it through a different lens. Displaying the versatility of the trench outside of the physical coat that we all know. Their initial intent with the resort collection was to change the game, giving the trench a new esthetic, a new way to think of the iconic piece. The main conceptual focus with the trench was business, creating an item that could be worn throughout the year, an item that would add to the building of their basics program.

Inside Out

Within this next category the items are typically found within the home, but this summer we’re revealing it all, bring what’s on the inside, out. This season stripes in general are a going to be a large trend. The stripes to look forward to aren’t your typical stripes, they consist of intense colors and unique patterns. “Sea Side Stripes” and “Banker Stripes” are what are being noticed the most, these specific types of stripes are typically found on furniture and within offices. But this season we are stepping outside of comfort zones and bringing those stripes out in a new dramatic way. Brands such as Tiger of Sweden, a classic men’s wear band found by two tailors in Sweden, displayed this trend in a casual way. They took a more formal stripe pattern and color typically found in men’s suits and transformed them. This pattern was stretched and placed on clothing which one does not see in the office. Designers at, Tiger of Sweden, took two opposites and made something inspiring, they created a story. Models of this runway show even wore headbands with the phrase, “Third Culture Kids”, to showcase the brands support of cultural diversity which is shown through in their collection. The phrase refers to the ability of the younger generation to take two different cultures and meld them into a new one, the Third Culture. The spring 2017 collection emphasizes the movement of the Third Culture, taking classic colors, street wear, suits, and patterns and meshing them together to create a line which can speak to this developing culture.

Shades that Pop

The final category has everything to do with color. This season there are a surplus of shade variations for specific colors. Based on research, three colors were most common and continued to repeat. One could look forward to seeing a lot of yellow (Monse), pink (Maison Margiela), and blue (DKNY). This seasons designers went all out with creating multiple variations of these colors which provides a color option for everyone, considering skin tones and comfort zones. All the colors are pretty easy to wear especially when there are so many different adaptations within each color category. This wave of color for the season will definitely help bring some relief to those who need a break from black and white but aren’t quite ready to jump into designer’s push for orange as a new neutral and yellow as the new black. Looks like this seasons designers want us all, both conservative and flamboyant to have some fun with a little bit of color!

From the looks of it, it seems like fashion week is off to a good start and we have some exciting trends to look forward to!