Spring is almost here, but fall starts today for the fashion world: In Milan, designers start showing their ready-to-wear collections for next fall and winter. Quickly after Milan come London, Paris, New York, Chicago. Here are sneak previews.
MILAN
After swooning under a fashion heat wave for spring, Italian fashion designers have calmed a bit for fall. As Milanese designers begin showing their fall-winter ready-to-wear collections today, the message is shapely, rather than shocking. That`s not to say the Italians have thrown cold water on their sexier notions. But they apparently now feel free to move on to a subtler interpretation of femininity, focusing this time on what makes a woman look embraceable, rather than grabbable.
Skirts have generally settled at the knee for fall, though many designers are expected to lace their collections with longer and shorter lengths. The newest jackets have broad, rounded shoulders and a long, hip-hugging line. Giorgio Armani is expected to present a new kind of collarless jacket with well-defined shoulders and a snug-to-the-body fit, evocative of a pullover sweater. Gianni Versace also likes a longer line in some of his jackets, as does Luciano Soprani, as well as Giovanna Ferragamo for Salvatore Ferragamo.
Coats seem split between long ankle-sweepers, favored by Karl Lagerfeld for Fendi and Claude Montana for Complice, and the versatile three-quarters length. Of the shorter look, two shapes to watch for are the teardrop, which ends close to the body, and the perky, flyaway look that stands out from the body in a flared cut or a swirl of pleats, such as those expected to be shown by Mariuccia Mandelli for Krizia and Laura Biagiotti.
PARIS
Women will look more than ever like women in next fall`s French fashions. The let`s-show-it-all-off body-consciousness featuring provocative and sexily fitting clothes will be occurring again in fall`s French ready-to wear collections.
Next winter may be Arctic, but Jean Paul Gaultier`s tartishly draped bosoms and Sonya Rykiel`s clinging angora dresses–open at front and back
–will send temperatures up to the sizzling point. Even the leading Japanese designers, such as Kenzo and Issey Miyake, have abandoned the meticulous layering and the androgynous style of their previous collections for a more frankly feminine emphasis on defined waists and close-to-the-body, sensual silhouettes. Capes; long, oversized, belted coats; or Karl Lagerfeld`s ”roof-collared flamingo coat” will sweep open to reveal the slinky clothes beneath.
The tyranny of the hemline will be finished. Anything goes, so take your choice from Thierry Mugler`s micro-mini, Gaultier`s and Kenzo`s midcalf, Saint Laurent`s on-the-knee or all three at Lagerfeld. Trousers–slim and slightly short–will still be an indispensable component of the Mugler and Saint Laurent collections.
Classic cashmere, camel`s hair, alpaca, leather, suede and wool knits will show up in such offbeat combinations as tweed and velvet. The other new winter story will be color. Gone forever is the black, brown and navy blue winter. Warm earth colors, beige and greige and muted, faded pinks will be punctuated by the acid green/orange and yellow/green satins of Claude Montana, Miyake`s bright blue, purple and green cottons and wools and, at Lagerfeld, a kaleidoscope of fuchsia, green, burnt orange and violet in prints that continue on down to shoes and boots.
LONDON
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The British are thinking rich this fall, with the emphasis on Regency dandies and Edwardian elan. Previews of some of their collections, which begin showing on Friday, indicate a fondness for upholstery-fabric brocades and damasks, as well as velvets and paisleys and lots of prints in coats, jackets and pants for day as well as evening.
Jasper Conran is expected to show his clean, sportswear shapes and sensuous evening looks in the new, more elaborate fabrics of velvet and brocade, and a certain sumptuousness is expected from Betty Jackson. Katherine Hamnett is expected to provide her signature clothing-cum-social-consciouness drama, and the Emanuels should be true to the tony, Sloane Ranger look they do so well.
Luxurious cashmere knitwear is the signature of Jean Muir, doyenne of British fashion design, and elegant, witty eveningwear is a sure bet from Zandra Rhodes. Among the young, trendy British group, Body Map is expected to show a lively assortment of body-hugging sportswear; Arabella Pollen, Janice Wainwright, Sheridan Barnett and Wendy Dagworthy can be counted upon for easygoing, clean-cut clothes with an element of fun. Caroline Charles, Roland Klein and Chris Clyne are also expected to show breezy looks in rich fabrics. NEW YORK
The marathon of major fashion shows will finally end in New York when top American designers unveil their collections from April 2 through May 3. Though they are last on the schedule, these are the designers who create–or influence–what is worn by the majority of women in this country.
This is what they have in mind: bold and strong silhouettes; luxury; a touch of fantasy via inspiration from movies; a continuation of patterns, this time with an emphasis on plaids and paisley; pants and more pants, particularly narrow stirrups and leggings.
Among the clearly defined silhouettes is the broad-shouldered, big-over-narrow proportion introduced for the current spring season. Also on the agenda: short over long, as in brief jackets over skinny bottoms such as a slender skirt or stringbean pants; glamorous, curvy, body-loving evening gowns. Watch, too, for roomy, ankle-grazing coats; a variety of skirt lengths, but–unlike spring–there`ll be more long versions than short.
In the luxury department: tactile fabrics, such as brocades and velvets
(Adrienne Vittadini says she`ll even have some brocades in her sportswear collection; others say there`ll be lots of traditional evening fabrics
–velvet, satin–big for both day and night); fur trims, as per Bill Blass`
sporty plaid coat bordered with lush sable or Calvin Klein`s deep blue cashmere jacket collared and cuffed with beaver and worn over a swirling cashmere skirt.
It should be a great season for those who enjoy a touch of fantasy, formality or opulence in what they wear. Among the dramatic influences on fall fashion: ”Amadeus” (courtly cutaway jackets, lace jabots, velvet trousers), the Raj via ”Jewel in the Crown” and ”A Passage to India” (tunics, coatdresses) and an equestrian mood (jodhpurs, derbies, flared jackets).
CHICAGO
Chicago designers are shaping up fall fashions by extending shoulders, slimming waistlines and trimming the width of pants and some skirts. The new shape-up isn`t skin-tight (unless a woman opts for leggings under a big top), but the pared-down feeling of fashion around the world is sweeping across the Midwest.
”I`m showing more waist than ever, slimmer shapes and more color,” says Mark Heister, whose signature has been the sophisticated easy-fitting chemise. Anneke Dekker-Olthof, designer for Anko, reflects the new body-consciousness by adding new short jackets that stop right at the waistline to emphasize it. Her drapey clothes are cut a bit closer to the body, most noticeably in a curry-colored jacket-and-pants combination.
She continues to base her collection of wool jersey and knits on such neutrals as black, white and beige, but Anko and others are adding wide ranges of colors to make clothes for fall the brightest in several years. Loden green, red, rich purples and deep mustard are sometimes accents, sometimes base colors and often in combination. Teal-and-pink combinations are big.