Spring/Summer 2014 Trend Report

The thirteen-year-old version of me squealed for joy when viewing what was new (or shall I say, recycled?) for Spring 2014. The major trends coming this year seem to bring back the 90’s style, elevated to a more womanly, elegant feel, leaving behind the tom-boyish, grunge silhouettes of generations past. The biggest trends noticeable this runway season were the evolution of the exposed midriff, or the “crop top,” the nouveau sporty chic look, sheer paneling, white collar or “elegant menswear,” fringe, and cool metallics. 2014 reinvents styles that were all the craze when I was just a child, too young to wear such provocative fashions. Twenty-somethings rejoice!

Our time has finally arrived to fully revel in 90’s flare with a new twist all our own.

Sporty Chic

Sporty chic was most apparent in this year’s collections created by Jil Sander, Vera Wang, Tommy Hilfiger and many others. Bringing back the crop tops, bomber jackets and shift blouses of the past and adding our current aesthetic to the runway, designers have created an effortless look to flood street fashionistas for the year to come. Ready to wear fashions combined with that ripped up t-shirt in the back of your closet will make an easy (and more affordable!) transition into 2014. It’s all about the combination of styles. Adding something new and fancy to your old (probably even 90’s) pre-existing wardrobe pieces will help create this years hottest runway looks!

Keep it minimalist by sticking to one colour as seen in collections by Vera Wang and Jil Sander, or add a pop of colour if wanting to follow along the lines of Karen Walker, Marc by Marc Jacobs and Tommy Hilfiger. Sporty Chic is everyday ready to wear for the young fashionista.

Sheer Paneling

Another trend this year, seen on every runway from Paris to New York, has been sheer paneling. Following along the same lines as minimalist chic and their creative use of crop tops, it envelopes the look with a layer of sheer fabric over top. It gives the illusion of exposed skin, yet never truly exposing the flesh outright for the more conservative. I personally find this trend very exciting because the combination of the use of single monochromatic colour pallets along side the sexiness of sheer creates a very elegant silhouette for the modern woman. We’ve seen a lot of this in collections by none other than 90’s fashion gods Calvin Klein (of course!) Lacoste and many others.

We also see this application of Sheer Layering in the Fringe style which I’ll touch on later.

Cool Metallics

Cool Metallics were huge in the 70’s, had a small resurgence in the 90’s, and are too good to put away for long because they’re coming back again this year! Altuzarra created a beautiful knee-length silver dress that I’m sure many woman could use as an elevated staple in their wardrobes this summer.

Saint Laurent and Tom Ford followed suit by creating their own versions of this “wow-factor” look. I don’t know about you, but I feel that my wardrobe is now incomplete until I have one of these metallic gems in my possession!

Pair them with a bold shoe or a red lip and your look is complete without having to continuously add more pieces! The beauty of Cool Metallics is that there’s no need to over accessorize, keep it simple and let the garment speak for itself.

Fringe with Black and White

Fringe this year seemed to be effortlessly paired with black and white, in turn creating beautifully two-toned masterpieces. This is not the fringe of our Mothers and Grandmothers.

Emilio Pucci was able to add a crazy pattern with fringe, while keeping it classy with an easy Black and White palette. The pop of colour in the shoe completes the look beautifully.

Two designers, Missoni and J.W. Anderson, created a whole new twist on fringe with a beautiful drape. The first is a modern incarnation of a roaring 20’s flapper dress, which is wearable anywhere thanks to the casual looking underlay. The second, looks like an inverted peplum made with more pliable fabrics as opposed to the rather stiff fabrics usually used. The use of modern fringe this season, creates looks I haven’t much seen before, but I have a feeling they will be around for a long while.

Casual yet elegant, classy but comfortable, these are among my favourites of the season.

White Collar/Menswear

Last, but certainly not least, we are seeing a lot of menswear once again. The newest incarnation shows a tighter fitting, more feminine feel. Plunging necklines are adding a sexy element to the once androgynous look. Donna Karan has created a crisp look with this white collar/menswear shirt-dress.

Looking like you got out of bed late at your boyfriend’s house and not wanting to wear that metallic party dress from the night before, you simply put on one of his shirts. Or in this case, a fully acceptable (and adorable) streetwear version of a man’s dress shirt. This easy to wear look, in my predictions, will be a huge one this year. Every girl wants to look cute in her boyfriend’s clothes, now you can achieve that look anytime, no boyfriend required.

Spring/summer 2014 shows us that slightly elevating our minimalist, ready to wear trends from the 90’s, adding simple Black and White pallets with pops of colour reserved for the lip or shoe, sheer paneling or layering with beautiful crops, high waisted skirts, topped off with funky bomber jackets, and cooling down at night with illustrious metallic dresses make for a powerhouse woman this year. Keeping it simple is the key. It’s all about the laid back style creating a cool look for our modern woman. 90’s kids celebrate! For we finally have our childhood dreams coming true (well for me at least.) We’re old enough to bring back the style we grew up watching our cousins and Kate Moss wear all through our youth. As fashion is a constant revolving door, this year it stops to open on (what I believe) to be the best comeback in years.

—-Kirsten Buch