So lately I've been busy stalking the runway reports from Style.com of Fall Fashion 2012. I actually haven't been to this site in quite a long time, but recently I've been curious about what was in this season. This year, the collections showed trends such as leather, fur, and ombre in a new light by enhancing and giving a new perspective on past fall styles.
Leather for example, commonly related to the material that gives moto jacket's their edge, were seen on lady-like silhouettes such as blouses and wide leg trouser pants(i.e.Derek Lam)
Fur on the other hand, expanded on their versatility and appeared on not only coats, but also sleeve cuffs, collar lapels, and even fur scarves(i.e. Bands of Outsiders).
Ombre a popular trend best known as a hair trend transcended its origins and turned into a summer staple look on just about anything (clothes, purses, hair, you get it right?) And now ombre is back for the fall and seen on sweaters, coats, and jackets, yay! (i.e. Rag & Bone, Alice+Olivia)
Here are my six favorite collections from Fall Fashion 2012:
In CR's collection, I loved the looks featuring mixed textured pieces such as the second outfit from the left. In this look, Ronson mixes fur with a structured camel jacket and kept the bottom flowy with a sheer pleated skirt. In her collection, Ronson makes contrasting materials and prints as the focal point of her fall 2012 collection.
Suggestions to achieve this look:
- Throw a fur vest over a solid colored sweater or a solid structured jacket.
- Match your tights with your shoes to make your legs look longer.
- Instead of wearing the classic black tights, try a wine colored one or a white colored one.
- Color palette: beige, white, wine, sunny yellow
Rebecca Minkoff is most notably known as a purse/bag designer. However, this collection shows an extension of her talent in fashion designing and validates her talent in this industry. From her Fall 2012 collection, Minkoff showed bright colored pieces from pants to shoes mixed with classic fall jackets with textured accents on the lapels and sleeves.
Suggestions to achieve this look:
- Pair printed shirt dress with a faux leather vest all over some shiny tights.
- Pair black jeans with a mustard button up with a plaid jacket.
- Play with proportions by pairing cropped jackets or vests over a dress or peplum top.
- Color palette: black, mustard yellow, red, blue, teal blue
Betsey Johnson is one of my favorite designers, so this was one of the first collections I viewed as a loyal fan. This season, Johnson featured brights like pink and orange, along with black and white prints featuring a pop of crimson red. Classic prints like plaid and houndstooth were also seen on pants, dresses, and dress coats.
Suggestions to achieve this look:
- Pair houndstooth printed apparel with a pop of crimson red on your feet or add a deep red blazer over houndstooth printed pants with a creme blouse underneath.
- Pair a houndstooth coat with pink tights and black riding boots.
- Wear a black turtleneck as a base under a bright patterned dress, and layer over a coordinating faux fur vest.
- Color palette: Bright pink, black and white, deep red, orange.
Bands of Outsiders took on a western feel in their fall collection with fur coats and scarves, along with camel and grey black colored accents over creme and bright solid pieces. They also featured the reverse-ombre trend in their gradient plaid prints fading from a light to a solid printed plaid pattern.
Suggestions to achieve this look:
- Pair a beige or tan colored blazer over a creme blouse with a light creme printed pant on the bottom.
- Wear a bold colored pattern maxi dress with a contrasting bright blazer up top and a black fur scarf to finish the look.
- Wear a creme sweater over a navy printed trouser with a tan faux fur vest on top.
- Color palette: beige/tan, black, navy, creme, grey, orange
This collection by Rag & Bone featured a tougher look with structured jackets and blazers over flowy feminine bottoms featuring printed and sheer pants. Bronze colored jackets and pants were also a staple along side bold stripe prints and ombre grey coats and leggings. Everything was then pulled together with a classic brown thick-waisted belt.
Suggestions to achieve this look:
- Try a black and white printed button up, with grey trouser pants, and a black faux fur vest over top. Don't forget to cinch it in with a brown belt!
- Wear a black long sleeve body con dress over maroon leggings with a striped blazer on top with a black faux fur vest over the blazer.
- Wear a multi-colored striped long sleeve underneath a black suede vest with some comfortable flowy black trouser pants.
- Color palette: red, black, brown, grey, burnt orange, white
And finally, fashion is just not complete without a little Chanel. This fall, the collection gave off a very futuristic/alien-like feel, with structured silhouettes of grey and metallic, along side some more softer, colorful pieces of knitted sweaters and cardigans. A common ground was found in the lady-like appeal of both contrasting forms of apparel which was a constant trend in general this year of fall fashion.
Suggestions to achieve this look:
- Pair a metallic grey sweater with a dark tweed pant and a lighter colored sequin coat or jacket on top.
- Pair dark sage green pants/ jeans with a purple and grey geometric sweater and top it off with a floral chiffon scarf.
- Wear a black sparkly sweater over light gold metallic skinnies and a grey knitted shag vest on top.
- Color palette: shades of grey, sage green, dark purple, mustard, metallic silvers and golds.
These are some of my favorite collections among so many more, however, obviously it would take weeks for me to mention them all. It was hard enough narrowing these down, not to mention four screenshots of looks within the collections. Feel free to stop by style.com for more reports on fall fashion 2012 :) * Warning: it's very addicting!
