This was one of the best fashion seasons for Paris, a market known for its elegance, grace as well as subtle creativity. We saw lots of cool, pure silhouettes, updated renditions of iconic classics as well as pretty little dresses with lots of feminine charm.
Pants are quite important! And guess what....there is a return to the jumpsuit. But all of the craziness of past seasons has been tempered into soft and simple styles that will be very easy to replicate for dolly chic. The garment does not have to be complicated to transmit high fashion statements. The Haider Ackermann jumpsuit is proof that more often than not....less is more...even when it comes to doll clothes!
And that rain slicker we made a few months back, will be very much needed to complete dolly's wardrobe. But as you'll notice further down, she'll also need a silk trench coat as well!!
BOLD STROKES
It's as if the designer took brush in hand and with a single stroke....designed any one of the above looks. Take a close look at the length. Note how everything is long, lean and not at all stressed! Fluid silks and rayon based knits will help you achieve these looks. Notice the absence of bling!
STORMY WEATHER
This is a story of cloudy grey skies and the styles that take both their color and the threat of storms as their inspiration. Belted trenches, hoodies and the contrast of shiny and matte fabric in light grey-.blues and foggy greys will be essential for next Spring's April showers styles.
DRAWING THE LINE
Stripes, an annual staple in Spring apparel trends, continue on. Here mattress stripes make for kicky little suits and swing coats. When tipped on the diagonal, stripes make a dramatic turn.
ON THE RIGHT TRACK
And yes, the stark black and white ensembles we first saw in New York were all over Paris. We particularly loved Balmain's graphic black and white tracks.
LA CHATALAINE
Pretty little dresses fit for a princess. Laser cut lace, sheer silks etched with monochromatic patterns, these are looks expressly kept simple so that the fabric can be best appreciated. While you will not find these fabrics in a store, the Valentino dresses give us a really good reason to collect vintage crochet, lace encrusted linen napkins that can be cut up and reassembled into an equally precious dress.
SHOW TIME!
A short cut to show stopping dresses, these pretty little dresses have lots of fit and flare. The little black dress is draped in drama.
DRAMA QUEENS
Black is the new black when it comes to formal wear. While dresses with subtle beading continues to please, trousers have come out of the closet in a big dramatic way! Again, notice the absence of bling. Beads are still there, but are tiny, monochromatic and used for quiet accents.
Another fashion season has come and gone. Sometimes it seems as though it would never end. That's because there are so many catwalk shows. According to a recent report in the New York Times, New York fashion week hosted 277 catwalk shows over eight days. London was 82 shows and five days long. The shows in Milan's lasted a day longer with its 137 shows. And finally Paris, the fashion capital of the world, had the longest marathon lasting 9 days with 93 shows....which, incidentally, does not include a bevy of "off-calendar" young designer presentations which could easy boost those numbers another 20 or so shows. Moreover, I stop at Paris because, the four I cover are the most important of the estimated 2,500 fashion weeks worldwide! And so it's all over, until the beginning of the year when menswear than Haute Couture recommences.
When looking over the collections, I pay less attention to "labels" and more to the clothes themselves, choosing a selection I think could be easily interpreted into duds for our vinyl divas. That's why you see less of Dior and company and more clothes from lesser named brands. I also try to find things that are little bit different than what we've explored before. The doll faces on the catwalk models, I feel, help visualize how styles might look on the doll. But when choosing a look, be sure to remember that your interpretation will be limited by the doll dimensions as well as the choice of fabrics. Still, no matter what you choose for inspiration or the outcome of the garment you make, know that it will be in style and light years ahead of anything Mattel or many doll clothes designers produce for the market!
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For me this edition has the most beautiful clothes I've seen in a few years, all the designers have such great ideas and have designed elegant and original clothes! I love your miniature fashions, ideal for 1/6th beauties :-). I look forward to more of your creations!!! xx
ReplyDeleteThank you, Night Owl. I agree. Though there was plenty of craziness strolling down the catwalks, at the end of the day, each fashion center retreated back to the core of their roots and produced some of the best looks in many seasons. Frankly, I was pleasantly surprised to see how good that super simple jumpsuit looked on my Barbie. Hmmm...an idea for a future tutorial ;-D
ReplyDeleteI've had in mind for several months to make doll jumpsuits...alas so many ideas, so little time!
ReplyDeleteSo true.... I'll be doing a tutorial on jumpsuits very shortly.
DeleteHi April, the jumpsuits are wonderful, I like very much the designs you chose, many of them are fare beyond my ability of "interpretation", but I think you did a great job to find the ones that would fit perfectly the girls.....and the Isabel Marant LBD is intriguing.....
ReplyDeleteKisses Billa
Billa, you are so modest because I think your interpretations of the LBD are wonderful. The "interpretations" will, in most cases, be simplified versions of the full scale garments. That's why I always say, "you're not copying, you're interpreting." And that's why I include a few of my own interpretations for comparison. That said, I'd like to do more tutorials where we look at a garment, break it down design-wise, then create a version suitable for the doll. Big hugs!!!
DeleteStunning Colletion,the dolls are fabulous on it!
ReplyDeletecheers.
xx
Thank you. And welcome to my blog.
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