Retro Style Without the Frumpiness···A Preview of New York’s Spring·Summer 2009 Fashion

[ 9/26/2008 ]

At the finale of the DKNY fashion show, animal rights activists staged a surprise protest. Seeking attention from the world’s media, they often stage similar demonstrations at fashion shows in New York, Paris and Milan. Anna Wintour, editor in chief of Vogue and widely regarded as the inspiration for ‘The Devil Wears Prada.’ At major fashion shows, she can almost always be found in a front-row seat at the center. “Next spring’s defining fashion theme is ‘retro plus something extra.’” Mornings and evenings are growing cooler. Daytime temperatures are still fairly warm, but the fashion world is already looking toward next spring. At ‘2009 Spring·Summer New York Fashion Week,’ held from the 5th to the 12th, the prevailing idea was to bring back the styles of the past without looking dated. “There is nothing new under the sun” is a harsh prospect for people in creative fields. As economies developed and consumer demand grew, more new products were needed to capture people’s interest. A gold silk dress presented at New York Fashion Week by married designers Kim Seok-won and Yoon Won-jung. Even counting only from the industrialization of the late 19th century, this cycle has lasted more than 100 years. It is no wonder that creating something new has become increasingly difficult. In this situation, fashion designers have a secret weapon: the archive. An archive holds not only materials from a brand’s earlier work but also ideas and creations drawn from nature, travel, music, art and film, along with the sources behind them. The trend known as “retro” began there. Earlier designers created styles so new that they were considered revolutionary in their time. Musicians and filmmakers did the same. Fashion icons have changed countless times across eras and places, and their stories are preserved in archives as well. Designers revisit these archives and add today’s imagination to create retro styles. That approach was on full display at New York Fashion Week. # Bringing Back the Styles of the Past From left: a pale pink women’s pantsuit by Phillip Lim. A ruffled blouse, a bow-tied belt and red shoes give it a distinctly feminine look. In the photo on the right, Marc Jacobs embraced retro design with a high-waisted skirt and a top that emphasizes the shoulders. Victoria Beckham (left), wife of soccer star David Beckham, and singer Jennifer Lopez pose for photographers at the Marc Jacobs show. At New York Fashion Week, celebrities often sit in the front row, showing their ties to the designers. Victoria Beckham, wife of soccer star David Beckham, and singer Jennifer Lopez posed for photographers at the Marc Jacobs show. At New York Fashion Week, celebrities often sit in the front row, showing their ties to the designers. Compared with Paris Fashion Week, home to Louis Vuitton and Chanel, or Milan Fashion Week, where major luxury brands such as Giorgio Armani, Gucci and Fendi compete, New York has relatively few “big houses.” Donna Karan and Calvin Klein are among the New York designers who can stand alongside them. Another is Marc Jacobs (45), currently one of New York’s most celebrated designers. Born in New York, Jacobs is called a “genius” by local fashion insiders. The New York Times devoted nearly a full page to his show in its edition the following day, the 9th. This “New York genius” found a source of retro inspiration in women’s fashion from the early 20th century. Models wore flat, brimmed straw hats tilted forward over their faces, looking like travelers from a film set in that era. Skirts resembling aprons and asymmetrical skirts made by pulling one side of a pleated front panel toward the back also stood out. Waistlines raised to just below the bust reinforced the retro look. Jacobs described his modern interpretation of familiar styles as “familiar but new.” At the finale of the DKNY fashion show, animal rights activists staged a surprise protest. Aimed at attracting worldwide media attention, such demonstrations are common at fashion shows in New York, Paris and Milan. The revival of 1970s and 1980s styles, already popular earlier this year, became even more pronounced. The “power suit,” with its emphasized jacket shoulders, appeared in many variations. At Proenza Schouler, designers Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough combined the power suit with futurism. From the front, the jackets resembled those worn by women in the 1970s and 1980s. From the back, leather details suggested the clothing of a warrior surviving in a bleak future. Asian-American designer Phillip Lim took a similar approach. To emphasize raised shoulders, he gave his blouses the same structured shoulders as jackets. # But Keep It Fresh Designers interpreted retro in many ways, but their looks felt feminine and comfortable rather than old-fashioned. Where the 1980s power suit projected strength as women’s social status rose, the versions expected next spring and summer were much softer. Phillip Lim paired a pale pink pantsuit with a bow-shaped belt, red shoes adorned with flowers and a pink blouse to emphasize femininity. Other designers softened jackets with prominent shoulders by pairing them with vividly printed blouses or dresses bearing delicate patterns. Anna Wintour, editor in chief of Vogue and widely regarded as the inspiration for ‘The Devil Wears Prada,’ can almost always be found in a front-row seat at the center of a major fashion show. Korean designer Yoon Han-hee’s label, Hanii Y, gave retro a fresh look with jackets whose shoulders were enlarged by sophisticated pleating. Another expression of retro was the shorter skirt. Financial Times fashion writer Vanessa Friedman went so far as to say that short hemlines were the clearest trend at this New York Fashion Week. With the exception of dress-focused labels such as Oscar de la Renta and Vera Wang, designers generally showed skirts above the knee, whether in dresses or two-piece outfits. Friedman interpreted the short skirts as a hopeful message from American designers amid the worsening US economy. She was referring to the fashion-world saying that the higher hemlines rise, the better the economy fares. # Pleats Take Center Stage Italian master designer Valentino Garavani, who retired from fashion earlier this year, insisted that women’s fashion should “never be vulgar.” His lifelong devotion to designing elegant dresses and even more elegant hats was part of his pursuit of an ideal of feminine beauty. Perhaps as a tribute to the retired master, the most noticeable decorative element in this retro trend was the pleat, which added a feminine touch. Pleats appeared on both tops and bottoms in dozens of variations, differing in width, shape and scale. From fine frills and wider ruffles to skirts built up in tiers, the collections made clear that pleated details would dominate next spring and summer. Married designers Kim Seok-won and Yoon Won-jung, making their New York debut this Fashion Week, earned praise for the varied pleats in their Andy & Debb collection. Fellow Korean designer Doo-Ri Chung, nicknamed the “queen of draping,” also drew attention with her flowing folds and natural curves.