Autumn-winter 2016 fashion: dramatic collections, tame shows
Gimmickry took a back seat on the catwalks of the world's fashion capitals as brands focused on the craft of making fabulous clothes, write Jing Zhang and Francesca Fearon
Seasons are shifting, retail is tough and the fashion world is in crisis – that is, if you believe the headlines. The industry needs a new system, but it’s hard to corral hundreds of brands into agreement. While a brand such as Valentino is growing fast, touching US$1 billion in sales last year (with Moncler hot on its heels), many others are struggling.
Most brands continue to stick to a schedule that’s been operating for 100 years – collections for spring-summer are debuted in autumn, and autumn-winter lines are shown in early spring – but others are offering a fast-fashion solution, whereby stores and clients buy straight from the catwalk and clothes are delivered in a few weeks. This discordancy is chipping away at what used to be a strictly regimented and regulated system.
However, as many theorists will attest, the most productive periods creatively come during times of struggle, insecurity and strife. It’s still possible to believe that, in high fashion, talented designers (and we do not mean stylists-cum-designers) are advancing aesthetic ideas of beauty.
New York Fashion Week reminded us that sportswear and celebrity make for obvious bedfellows: Kanye West launched another Adidas collaboration with a gig at Madison Square Garden and Rihanna tapped her huge fashion clout by teaming up with Puma.
Rebecca Minkoff, Tory Burch and Diane von Furstenberg all offered items from the catwalk for immediate sale – recognising that today’s younger clients want instant gratification. Tommy Hilfiger customers are already able to buy the label’s collection straight from the catwalk and Tom Ford will follow suit in September.