Report on trends seen in fashion projects enrolled in ITS#FIVE
April 25, 2006
From mid March through until the end of April the offices of ITS become a hub for portfolios arriving from all over the world. Each portfolio is carefully opened, inspected and registered. For three weeks we surround ourselves with portfolios-quite literally barricading ourselves in. Reading them one by one, over and over again until we are satisfied that we have got to know them well enough. Having received nearly 800 portfolios from 196 different schools and academies of 68 nations, a high percentage of applicants studied in the UK closely followed by Italy then USA and Germany. It feels like we have a slice of the young fashion world in our hands. This puts us in a privileged position, not saying that we are an authority on young designers but more like observers. We have put together a mini report on what we as spectators have noticed during the time we have been closed away with the portfolios. It is amazing how quickly the worldwide clan of young fashion designers can move. Back in the day when most Belgian projects were deconstructed, when the Japanese were about lower volumes and deconstruction, India was ethnic embroidery, China variations of the kimono... . Not ages and ages ago but just two years ago - like sommeliers could take a quick glance of a portfolio and pronounce the nation. Now no longer. This is not to say that there has been a mass globalisation and all collections have become uniformed, rather that traditional cultural influences are becoming more and more diluted, melting and melding with each other. Yet again i-D reigns as most read magazine amongst young fashion designers followed closely by various editions of Vogue. A photo finish between Alexander Mc Queen and John Galliano nominated as favourite fashion designers. Something universal that binds all young fashion designers is the lack of financial backing in the fashion system and poorly, if at all, paid jobs. We were delighted to see an increase in menswear collections that accounted for 18% of enrolled collections! This was matched with a general increase in both quality and experimentation. |
 Since last year the haze of doom and gloom and profuse spread of death has lifted. The blood, gore, pain and suffering that had so much tainted the general mood seems to have lifted making room for a more positive outlook. Although symbols of death have not completely disappeared; there is an abundance of skulls found across all portfolios regardless of nationality. The presence of skulls isn't just linked to the more traditional meanings of mortality - memento mori (remember you must die) but interpreted in more light hearted cheeky ways, playful and fun, at times romantic or even prim and proper. Skulls are most definitely the "catchphrase" this year - which is slightly strange because normally we see trends that are not reflections from the big catwalks and in the past inspiration seemed to have been independent of what's going on in the big cities. Another favourite theme is travel. Whether it be the colours of country visited, interiors of Grandmother's luggage bags, sense of freedom or adventure you get from travelling, hysterical people who have a travel phobia and pack everything or imaginary journeys to escape from reality, travellers and travelling were found in all assortments. Forms-plenty of mass and minimal deconstruction, layering and volumes. The overall the effect however is not chaotic but rather an intricate and delicate elaboration of shapes and forms. Not everything is complex and full there were also plenty of clean sharp cuts as well as more easy and ready to wear lines. Materials-what happened to all the jeans??? In the past years it was difficult to escape from inflated use of jeans, this year they have retreated from the scene but it won't be long before we see a come back. Any qualms on the use of fur vanishes as its use has become reinforced following a general acceptance. Perhaps following Miuccia who declared she was fed up of being PC. Plenty of leather and wool. Knitwear seems to be progressing to another level, traditional forms and patterns are being challenged with much more experimentation. Colours-black is still around but not excessive. Generally colours are coordinated and complimentary with a few exceptions of shocking colour combinations. Prints-the same thing can be said here, coordinated and complimentary although there are still some collections that mix animal prints, metallic colours, floral and ethnic. |
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To add to the skulls and travel we read concepts about sushi, urban landscapes, human fragility, playing cards, 50's, 80's, historical collections, military elements, erasing graffiti to transform cities into grey boxes. There were also a few collections that questioned the definition of what is beautiful and what is ugly. Could a person be so beautiful to disguise how ugly they are on the inside? This is what caught our eyes... Now we have to wait another year... |
