Fashion-eering
Fashion-eering
20.10.17
Continuing the recent theme of going places where people wear very silly shoes (see Exhibition-eering) Helen and I ventured to the London Fashion Week Festival, a tag-on event to London Fashion Week proper, where everyday folks can dress up in their own versions of high fashion, wear silly shoes, watch fashion shows and make like Edina and Patsy in the champagne bar. We partook of the champagne but bypassed the silly shoe requirement. Though I have to say I did actually spend more time in front of my wardrobe before heading out than I ever normally do, aware that the fashion-world’s a stage and one has to make a smidge more effort when frequenting such circles. So out came my 70’s Kaftan and the knee-skimming faux fur gilet…
Kaftans and joking aside, fashion is entirely relevant to the interiors side of the coin. Trends emerge and evolve and reposition themselves as viable interiors ideas. Commonality in areas of fabrics, textures, patterns and colours means that what’s big in fashion invariably feeds into what’s big in interiors. Reading through Elle (the fashion one, not the Deco one) articles, those rare pages embedded within a tome of adverts and advertorials (its page FIFTY THREE before you get to any content, and even then that’s just the masthead) it is very evident that the crossovers between the two industries are working both ways. Mood boards and colour palettes, features on fabrics and textures all draw parallels to the interiors version of Elle, though good old Elle Deco doesn’t exasperate readers by selling half of its pages to advertising. Might just be me being a grumpy Edina….
If the trends runway show at #LFWFestival is to be taken literally then the things to watch out for over AW17 are suiting, metallics and 70’s inspired colours, patterns and styling. I get the tailoring thing (minus the shoulder pads that seem to have featured quite heavily) and I can see how metallics are still going strong, but I might have to draw the line at bell bottoms, high waistlines, peasant blouses and mustard corduroy. The interiors versions of the more palatable headline trends would translate really easily into lush striped fabrics, slick tailored details, the continuation of soft mixed metallics and maybe, just maybe, some 70’s influenced pattern combinations.
As an alternative view, Elle magazine cites glamour as the next big thing, an escape from the (cue overused word) austerity cloud that we are sitting under. And when they say ‘glamour; they don’t mean big hair, too much blusher and page 3, they mean opulence, touches of rich detail, decorative flourishes and a certain kind of attitude. And I think interiors have cottoned onto this concept in spades, the fashion equivalent of a beautiful sequined dress teamed with trainers and a biker jacket would be the current interiors trends of touches of glitz and glam mixed in with more industrial elements. That idea of unique personal style trumping anything over-coordinated or run of the mill is massively prevalent in interiors at the moment.
At the end of our LFW festival day my mental notebook was brimming with inspiration and cues that we can translate for interior use. And my feet didn’t hurt that much, but that will be down to my wise choice of wearing my Scholl 7inch platforms, I reckon.
So all in all, a day of people watching, shopping and quaffing. My actual highlight of the day? Walking out and seeing two young fashion students prising their ridiculous shoes off, rubbing the welts on their feet, and popping their comfy trainers on.
A massively successful mixing of patterns and stripes, or a co-ordinated clash of brightly coloured tartans that brings personality and a quirkiness to the mix.
Some floaty-light embroidery and lace work, all very lovely but let’s not literally translate this one back into interiors. We’ll end up with the modern reincarnation of Old Lady Net Curtains, not a look I want to be responsible for advocating.
Attention to the tailored details, bows, ties and straps, some lovely clever ideas to add that extra something to a cushion or dining chair.
Pleated fabrics featured heavily, especially in stunning luxurious metallic tones and bright colours.
Regimental stripes seen on trousers and sleeves could easily be translated onto a sofa or dining chair, or added to a bed dressing.