Leather Report

I've decided to share my trend report from my rcs final! I was especially intrigued by leather's presence throughout the runways, so I looked  closely at a few of the designers' looks and their inspirations. I didn't put any DKNY pics b/c there will prolly be entire post with the pictures.....it is killer. Enjoy :)

 

“Skin Is In”

Reem Acra

For Fall 2012, skin is in (and not in the way you may think). Leather is the fabric of the moment for this fall as dictated by many designers during Fashion Week in early February. However, these ready to wear fashions were not the typical biker jackets that leather is usually associated with. Leather was used in an unconventional way in its design, sheen, and detailing. Each designer stayed true to his/her own style aesthetic and tied leather into the theme of the collection. Derek Lam embraced prim with an edge. Reem Acra harnessed feminine power into her leather looks while Diesel Black Gold brought more of a rocker vibe. Alexander Wang added a slick polish to the leather for some sheen. Moving closer to the masses, DKNY had leather skirts that would make the fashion-forward consumer in-vogue for fall. Many designers brought their own interpretation of the leather dress to their collections, and I am eager to see how this trickles down to main-stream. Donna Karan had the most realistic designs in her DKNY collection, which New York women will be quick to adopt. As for the rest of the designs, if styled correctly, will be extraordinary and show stopping.

While looking more closely at the inspirations behind the leather phenomenon, I found some conflicting ideas. Trompe l'oeil was a theme that surfaced in multiple designers’ collections. It is defined as “an art technique involving extremely realistic imagery in order to create the optical illusion that the depicted objects appear in three dimensions” and was seen in Wang and Acra’s designs. On a different note, the sixties era along with Audrey Hepburn and the beehive rang true for designers like Lam and Thakoon. Thakoon also expressed in his mood board Ed and Nancy Kienholz's installation re-creating Amsterdam's red-light district, The Hoerengracht. Despite the various and differing inspirations, all of the leather designs seemed to emit a major confidence from the designer and models. I found this particularly interesting. While spring is harnessing bright color and true feminine aesthetics, the leather designs are dark and have a more demanding and dominant quality. I would not go as far as to say that a feminist movement is on the rise; however, I am happy to see that the designs and trends for fall are highlighting a different side of the feminine, the strength and confidence within women.

(Information found at wwd.com, style.com, fashionetc.com, theroot.com, and wikipedia.com)

Derek Lam

 

 

 

 Thakoon

 

Alexander Wang