Fashion with a deeper meaning at PWF

For this season’s fashion show in Paris, Karl Lagerfeld and Chanel held a feminist protest. It was timely and appropriate—especially given the tenor of the collection itself. The belief in the equality of the sexes is always in fashion. However, it seems to be a particularly big hit right now. Earlier this month, actress Emma Watson addressed the United Nations with a speech to launch the “He for She”, a campaign that urges men to take gender equality seriously. 

The Chanel show was led by Cara Delevingne. Models were raising signs included “Tweed is Better Than Tweet” and “Boys Should Get Pregnant Too.” They reminded us that freedom should be free and that girls should dare to be different. Karl even sent a lone man down the runway holding a “He For She” sign. Regardless of whether feminists find Lagerfeld’s show flattering or patronizing, it seems they inspired his designs. Conclusion: “make fashion not war”.

Louis Vuitton's Spring/Summer 2015 show was nothing less than a time travel fashion show in Paris. Nicolas Ghesquiere, the head designer ceaselessly drove his fashion into the future. The show opened with living video murals of enormous heads intoning an odd, slightly stilted monologue. There were 3,600 glass panels, 15,000 tons of concrete in the show building. It just struck you as a bit of sci-fi posturing, setting the scene for Ghesquiere's plastic fantastic journey taking you simultaneously backwards and forwards. That paradox made sense when you saw it. The fabrics were multi-textured knits hanging around the body, fashioned into multiple panels with a synthetic sheen. The shapes of the clothes travelled back to the sixties and seventies. They were brief, babydoll dresses, kick-flares in crushed velvet hugging the hips, and the high, bulky heels of multi-textured ankle boots faceted like iron girders.

Conclusion: “"The LV house wants to explore the ability to travel to any part of the universe without moving”.

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findSimilar Checks out the Tartan Trend!

Summer may be starting to feel like a distant memory, but there is one thing we won’t be leaving behind this autumn- and that is our love (and need) for prints and patterns in our wardrobes! The descent into winter often results in us removing any traces of colour that aren’t a shade of brown or black (with the exception of cream and grey of course) from our wardrobes. Our clothes seem to get a bit less bold, a bit more monochrome, and let’s face it a bit more boring. But a key trend this autumn that’s taking over the fashion world is a way to brighten our outfits on a dull, grey (and let’s face it most likely rainy) day, and that is with the return of Tartan and Check prints! Everyone’s wearing them- from Cara Delavigne to Kate Middleton, and we can see why…

We saw them all over the catwalk last year now we’re seeing them again; Glamour magazine quite accurately described the constant resurgence of the tartan and check print trend as an ‘enduring love affair’, and that it is! And this autumn it appears to be a more committed love than ever, with designers such as Tommy Hilfiger being unafraid to pair checks with checks from head to toe, as we saw on the runway with a soft grey and red checked boyfriend coat, teamed with a matching skirt and a monochrome checked waistcoat. However If you’re not quite ready for a pair of tartan trousers like Cara, or a still waiting to wear that Emilia Wickstead inspired checked co-ord, then you can simply brighten up your outfit with a checked bag or a variety of tartan accessories. You can be bold and bright with a red tartan scarf, or be subtle and demure while still improving any outfit, from your work ensemble to the jeans/ top you wear to the shops, with a Stella Macartney or Marc by Marc Jacobs inspired tartan jacket or coat.

Now before I leave you to go and raid the stores to add some tartan touches to your autumn/winter wardrobe, I need to give a quick thank you and moment of appreciation to Cher Horowitz and this 90s inspired, timeless trend.

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