The problem with fashion week having become so globally popular is that a lot of the clothes shown have no business on a catwalk. That's what showrooms and market week are for! In addition to sending out a new collection of items to be sold, catwalk shows really should serve as vehicles for new ideas: clothes, accessories, makeup and hair. New York has the longest event--255 presentations shown over 9 days! Given each show has, on the average, about 30 outfits....well....that's an awful lot of clothes to wade through! While most of what the girls saw were, well...nice wearable fare, much of it was what's in everybody's closet already. They are looking standout items that will carry them through the next Spring/Summer season in style and tres cool.
60's Story
The 1960's is a great decade when it comes to clean, timeless lines. The shirt, the sheath and the tent dress in short lengths is not only easy to translate into dolly's 1/6 scale, they are easy to make. Consider silk shantung, brocade or damask in clothes as crisp as white or in bonbon colors.
On Point
You can never go wrong with bold graphics in black and white. We like the geometric shapes that give a sharp edge to a summer dress. Even better---fit and flare of an early 1960's silhouette.
Summer in the City
Sleek, cool and sophisticated...cut in soft cottons with an occasional swipe of a brushstroke, this is how our girls love to sashay down big city streets in the middle of the summer both day and night. Think long---jumpsuits, ankle length dresses, tunics work over skinny pants, a hip length top over wide trousers.
Yikes, Stripes!
The classic look of stripes take a turn to the dramatic. What's different here is that instead of placing each line in sharp angles, the new direction here favors stripes that are sporadically draped.
Soft Shoulders
What you notice immediately for next summer is that the focus will be on sexy shoulders. Look for plenty of off the shoulder dresses including some that drape over dropped sleeves.
Blurred Lines
Fuzzy edges, shaggy tops and tents, texture is a very important element to early spring fashions. Think of coats and jackets with frayed edges, or feathers or shag knit textured fabrics worn over sleek or sheer bottoms. Even a flat fabric like the black satin featured in Calvin Klein's outfit has an element of "movement" built in when cut into slats and tacked on to each other like a cornice draped over the hips.
Pina Colada
White is very big for next summer. The essential thing for you to know is that it works best when it has a Flaky, jiggly texture to it: fringe, appliques, shag trim, feathers. Keep the silhouette simple and let the fabric make the best move!
Girly Show
What the girls liked best about New York Fashion Week is how super feminine many of the fashions were. We saw ruffles, flounces, pants with lots of silky volume and the cool look of freshly cut floral prints or embroidered appliques.
Watch Out: Curves Ahead
Continuing on with the girly show, this is a super feminine version of fashions "Little Black Dress." Consider making a slip dress or one that incorporates a sarong skirt. You can do this with lace, satin, or a sheer polyester organza.
Next up.....London!!!
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A lot of looks that will translate perfectly in miniature! I love your mini versions a lot, the white dress is so cute on your doll! The lace dress is very chic. I look forward to see what in London was shown on the catwalks!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Linda. Part of the challenge of doing these "Barbie-centric" trend reports is choosing items I think should translate well for our favorite fashion dolls. Sometimes I see things I like for me, but for reasons of bulk, complexity or simply designs I don't think will scale down well, I have to pass them by. But still, there are plenty of other great ideas out there and this is a fun project to present!
DeleteMy favorite was your doll version of the Betsy Johnson frock!
ReplyDeleteI love striped garments especially when draped in such interesting ways!
DeleteOoh! I'm hoping you'll do a tutorial on that striped Betsey Johnson dress! And the lace is fabulous.
ReplyDeleteThank you SP. The Betsey Johnson dress was draped on the doll. What I'll do in the near future is to dedicate a post showing how I analyze the design and brought it to life for the doll.
DeleteHi April, I saved some of the suggestions, I need to make some jumpsuits and needed some ideas.
ReplyDeleteI would love to have the Jason Wu floral dress for my personal wardrobe!
I agree with Smaller Places, it would be great if you could share the tutorial forthe Betsey Johson dress!
Hi Billa. I'll keep my eye on jumpsuits for you in the coming trend weeks. In fact, there are a few more jumpsuits coming out of London Fashion Week. The Betsey Johnson dress was a challenge and a lot of fun to translate for the doll. Due to popular demand, I'll plan on a tutorial showing how I analyzed and translated the design for the doll.
DeleteI really liked the Betsy Johnson dress!
ReplyDeleteThank you for the fashion photos & tips! <3
Thank you for taking time to take a peak at this post. And yes, I agree with you....the Betsey Johnson dress is really nice.
DeleteFabulous post! A must share for sure.
ReplyDeleteThank you Brenova for your kind words and welcome to my blog.
DeletePiękne kreacje a biała sukienka i koronkowa czarna mnie zachwyciły!
ReplyDeletePozdrawiam bardzo serdecznie!
Olla wrote: Beautiful creations and white dress and black lace delighted me !
DeleteYours very sincerely !
Thank you Olla. Very happy you enjoyed this post. Big hugs!!!
I'm always amazed at the way you group all the designs into themes. The lace dress is lovely. The Dennis Basso dress gives me ideas. I can easily see it made of tiny mesh (the kind I use for doll stockings) with some decorative ribbon stitched diagonally over it.
ReplyDeleteHi BlackKitty. For contemporary fashion, everything is designed, displayed or promoted based on a theme or a "story." It helps the design process and it helps the customer to understand the thoughts or inspirations behind the design. In fashion magazines, themes adds an element of cohesion in telling each season's story as well. For me, it's a little like astrology...broad brush predictions that you can read into whatever you want then translate it into designs of your own. So if any of this is inspiring to you, I am very happy because that's my goal!!!!
DeleteI like some of the draped fashions. And the draped, fringed Vera Wang dress. (The Calvin Klein pants don't seem couture at all ... odd fit. My dolls could wear any of the fashions though, lol.
ReplyDeleteI too, love draped fashions especially when thinking about the doll. It's what I always loved to wear and it's a nice alternative to the stiff, "couture" fashions we see normally designed for dolls. But I will be honest... I loved the Calvin Klein pants and couldn't fit it into any theme, so by stretching the idea of "movement" (clothes that move as she walks), I put it into this group. It's an edgy look I'd like to try at some point.
DeleteSome sharp looks here! I really like that dress with the black lace - such a good look!
ReplyDeleteThank you jSarie. Indeed there are lots of pretty looks I'd like to explore!
DeleteSo many great fashions! I started choosing my favorites, but they outnumbered the ones I didn't like. So I stopped counting. Your Betsy Johnson creation is fabulous! The stripes and the girlly show was at the top of my list.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Vanessa. Yes, I agree, there are so many lovely outfits on the runways of New York. Lots of ideas for dolly clothes!!!!!
ReplyDelete