Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Dolls Eye View: Paris Fall Trends 2022

We can always count on Paris for a wide diversity of looks. But as was the case with Milan, there was not a lot to fall in love with. But within the dumpster dive of concept clothes and flights of fantasy, the girls were able to find a few things worthy to come home with. 
For the most part, designers here were not generous with color, preferring black and grey over a palette of bright autumn tones. 


 Warm Leatherette
One trend we could pinpoint....leather. Either as an all-over look or used in touches or for accessories, next fall will see generous slabs of leather (or leather look-alikes) crafted into dresses, vests, thigh high boots. 

Two things to note here: super long blazers and super short shorts! Both are trending and can be teamed together or worn separately for a combination of looks and styles. This is largely an exercise in styling. Here Estelle wears a simple halter neck top belted over wool shorts. Topping it off...a classic leather blazer in a long, hip grazing length.

Dorian, on the other hand, wanted something with a little more cutting edge style. Her dress is cut from stretchable faux leather. It is an asymmetrical fitted sheath dress where one side traces her body down one side, while the other side is fitted but has exterior seams closing like a clam-shell. Of course on a 1/6th scale, the "leather" won't drape, so we took the liberty to fold and tuck the "ruffle" along the seam line. 

The Revenge of the Classics
As pandemic protocols are dropped and offices reopening, look for the classic suit and its variants to return. The Chanel show this season, was criticized for looking a tad bit matronly, but when the girls looked closely, they saw many classic staples they felt could be restyled into something more exciting.

For example, Sonia opted for this classic Chanel tweed suit worn with a super long "Chanel" charm necklace and bracelet. She swapped out the thick socks for lurex stocking boots. And take a look at what happens when she opens up her jacket!
There's a silver satin top for those late day dates. We lined the jacket with the same silver fabric as the top! 

Orange Is the New....
A trend we first spotted at New York Fashion Week.... Orange is trending for next fall. From bright tangerine to mellow pumpkin and blood orange..... this is a color your dolls will be demanding, no matter the time of day!

La Belle et La Bete
Be it faux fur or feathers, the nocturnal animals are on the loose. Once again, they are found in jackets and coats of all lengths and looks. Look for feathers at night.


One of the coolest ways to wear a fur jacket....here's grace in a black "chubby" fur worn over leggings.

Cocooning
Not interested in getting skin in the game? Cocoon coats and jackets provide a fur-free alternative. Quilted coats and jackets have been elevated into high fashion status. Look for satin coats and nylon cocoons to shine next winter. 


For Latoya, we constructed this cocoon coat based on the pattern we created for the Patrick Kelly cocoon. The jacket doesn't require much fabric so I made my own quilted fabric. I began by tacking on  sheets of soft, non-woven material to the lining, layering on satin and then top-stitching. Then we laid down and cut out our pattern. Our jacket is not perfect. Next time I will plan the stitching pattern better.  (We plan to make others jackets in the near future which we promise to share with you.) Neither me nor Latoya liked the washed out jeans worn with the original jacket. We wanted something more elegant so we teamed our white satin cocoon with navy blue taffeta stovepipe pants.


!!!!!!!
These are skinny, slinky looks in black...straight up!!! Think slim fitting dresses, straight pants or leggings....all in the noteworthy color of......black!
The orignal look consists of a draped top over wide trousers. Creating this look appears easier than it really is. Because we are working in 1/6 scale, the fabric won't drape quite like the original. After three attempts with two types of fabric, I decided to simplify. So for the dress created for Amalia, I started with an ankle length jersey sheath with funnel collar cut from a thin, nylon jersey. I draped a separate piece of this fabric extending from the tip of one shoulder, diagonally across the body and caught into the opposite side seam. 
By now you know my divas....They LOVE everything that sparkles and shines. As such Sophia couldn't pass up this modern day version of the flapper dress. A basic strapless sheath dress worn with shiny vinyl boots. 


Hot Hot Hot!!!

Everybody is talking about the color of the year....Hot Pink! At the Valentino show, more than half of his show marched out to the vibe of this single electric tone! A few other designers also picked up on the on the trend. So this Fall...Think Pink!!!

We didn't have the same feathers as the original dress. (We used turkey feathers instead.) So while the spirit of the look changed, Simone, the newest model to join our staff, still loved the resulting look.....bird in paradise! The base is a tent dress with feathers tacked on one by one. 

The Tuxedo
The look--a feminine version of the tuxedo--made famous by the late, great Yves Saint Laurent, gets an update and comes back into the spotlight for modern times. On the left, a long, curvy blazer over shorts and thigh high, leather boots. On the right....an exaggerated, squared off androgynous version of Yves' iconic look.


Again, this is a question of styling. Here, Morgon chooses the more feminine version of the two options, worn over a short skirt instead of shorts.


Love Me Tender
None of these looks says fall/winter fashion. However, in contrast to all of the hard edge looks, almost masculine air of the upcoming season, these pretty little dresses provided a sweet, flirty counterpoint.  
Chrissie LOVED this dress. It is so young and fresh and has a vintage vibe. Admittedly though, I was heavy handed with the flounces and my dress flutters more. 
There is really nothing new here. It is a classic Grecian style gown we've seen over the decades. An elegant, easy to construct (halter neck tent dress) belted and worn with contrasting opera length gloves. Pure high style!




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15 comments:

  1. Hi April! I wonder how many shows do you have to sit through to find these trends.

    I love to see bright colors in fall/winter trends. When I was younger, I remember seeing more colorful clothes during the fall season, but I feel like these past few years they've been more muted. However, my favorite look is the one you've recreated for Estelle. Both your recreation and the original look like something I could wear myself.

    Hope you're doing well.

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    1. Thank you, MC. When I choose which outfits to make, of course I am thinking about ones I would wear myself as well. I no longer have the lifestyle, but still enjoy seeing my dolls get dress up for all times of situations. I suppose that is what being a "fashionista" is all about! LOL! P.S. I am so happy I can make footwear for my girls! It allows me to control the look right down to her toes!

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  2. I really love the Chanel looks, nothing is better than a great suit! The feathers makes me sneeze, just looking at it...and the oranges are really marvelous! Always some great inspirations here! Sandi

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    1. Thank you. You know, Sandi, everyone I know was slamming the Chanel show, saying it was "old" or "matronly." The styling of that show was noting to write home about, but if you look carefully, there were some really nice classic looks. So...it all comes down to....how the look is styled!

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  3. Amazing outfits, as always.
    Big hugs.

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    1. Thank you so much, Dlubaniny. Happy you enjoyed this post!

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  4. Hello April, thank you for this new post.
    I have a question: how long does it take you to create all the clothes? Currently I'm out of inspiration and I'm going to slow down my publications.
    I really like your models, I'm always impressed. Then I noticed your high boots, they are sublime.
    My favorite model is your Givenchy suit. I really like tailored structured jackets...
    I also like your cocooning coat, then precisely I find it difficult to innovate in fashion, and making a quilted type coat changes a lot.
    Thank you for sharing.

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    1. Bonjour Shasarignis. Sorry it has taken me a bit of time to respond. (I'm headed back to Paris for a short trip.) It takes me about 2-3 weeks to complete the collection for each report. If I had the exact fabric it might take me less time. And it also depends on the difficulty of the garment...whether or not I have to create a pattern. Sometimes, I also have to stop and make some footwear if I know the look depends on something special. And I am really lucky to be able to make my own shoes and boots!
      As far as innovating in fashion...that is really difficult because everything has always been done. That said the innovation in dolly clothes comes when you set out to make a replica of a full scale garment, but realize you much simplify or change something to make the garment work. While I don't "create" fashion, I feel that translating current styles into 1/6 scale dolly clothing is quite exciting.
      If you are having trouble feeling motivated, focus on something you really enjoy. For some dolly designers, they are inspired by historical costumes. For others they like the fashions of the 1950's Haute Couture movement. For me...it's about getting the look, moreso than all of the little couture details. Hope you are well. Bisous!

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  5. All of these photos are amazing, but the most I liked are the white dresses and that white jacket <3

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    1. Thank you Aya... I also love that little white dress. The jacket is not perfect, but as soon as I can, I will be exploring quilted jackets more in detail!

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  6. Thank you so much,Linda. I wanted to make something from the orange group but didn't have that color of fabric on hand. Personally, I would have liked to see more color because, after all, this is a Fall collection. The quilted jacket was my first (but not the last) attempt at making such a garment. Hint, hint....there is a quilted jacket tutorial in our future! Big hugs. April

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  7. Estelle's outfit and Greek dress are mindblowing. Wow!

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    1. Thank you so much Kamelia. I don't always like what I see on the catwalks, but this time around, there were some pretty interesting ideas.

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  8. Such interesting methods for re-recreating such whimsical, romantically inclined effects that these clothes reflect. 💗

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    1. Thank you. Happy to know you enjoyed this post.

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