yohji yamamoto f/w 2014
admittedly, i don't really pay attention to fashion week except for the designers i really like (and sometimes even then i only find out through tumblr/other social media etc)
something that is really interesting that i have noticed (as well as others) is the shift away from using predominately black in collections, particularly by certain designers
i guess one of the biggest examples of this is yohji yamamoto, probably the pinnacle of "all black" aesthetics (along with rei kawakubo/issey miyake) because of the japanese "avant garde" movement/ in the 1980s. the same nomadic refinement is still present in this collection, but it's a different feeling...i think because of the mixture of patterns and colours and textures.
the thing is, it is an active step away from "all black" because he said himself that people say he uses a lot of black, which i suppose begs the question of why
dries van noten f/w 2014
i suppose dries van noten isn't iconic for using all black or whatever, but his collections usually have colour schemes that are subdued/quiet
which makes the pop yellow, teal and pink very unexpected
it's surprising and interesting because fall winter is generally more 'serious' (particularly in menswear, particularly in paris) than beachy spring summer looks but this time it's a very loud season
i think dries is a really interesting designer in this way, many designers in contemporary fashion just look in archives but instead of using it as inspiration to progress, use it to fall back on.
the seamless blend of rave subculture, renaissance and luxury combined with manipulating fabrics and clothing to appear old ...im not keen on using postmodern as an adjective sometimes because it seems like such a cop-out but i think dries nails what good, thoughtful (postmodern) design really is
rick owens f/w 2014
i don't think a rick owens collections could be called a rick owens collection without the use of black, so it makes sense that half his collection was still primarily in black
but with that being said, the other half was in browns, dust and dirty reds. i think no designer really wants to be pigeonholed into any sort of container, and maybe that's why rick owens is moving beyond monochromes. it's interesting also to consider the context of society presently, i think anyone with a tumblr or a blog of some sort will understand that one of the major trends is the "all black" category.
black has always been symbolic, whether it be modernity, urbanism or subculture
there are so many quotes about black, black as poet-wear (ann demeulemeester), black as modest and arrogant (yohji yamamoto)...the list goes on
but perhaps if black has been co-opted into mainstream culture, it loses the edge it previously has, and maybe this is why there is this breakaway from black this season
issey miyake f/w 2014
anyway
lastly, issey was also very bright this season, the ending looks were super colourful, looks like they could have come out of london fashion week
it's interesting because i think designers (should) always consider fabric when designing, and technology is so progressive these days, maybe even more progressive than to just stick with black (things like different methods of textile printing/development, thermoplastics, new textile technologies etc)
i mean, black will never get old...i suppose it's just one of those things. f/w 2014 has been interesting though.
all images from style.com
