The Fall Fashion Edit | Go big or go home

Hello everyone! Ready for Fall fashion?

Since the September Issue, all fashion channels have been quite busy pushing on us customers the fall trends. In Italy, this would be a one shot affair. "The Trends" are like the Ten Commandments, and are pretty much written in stone by the time the Fall collections hit the stores. This is because, as you may remember I wrote a while back (I just wish I could find that post), Italian women mainly shop the old fashioned way -- in person, in the store.

Now that we are back in North America, I have found myself immersed again in the flood of commercial emails that showcase on daily basis this or that aspect of the Fall trends, which requires (according to them) my wallet's most immediate attention. As the flood hits, I always have the feeling to get lost, to forget what the key trends actually are.

I found my way back thank to the July (yes, July!) issue of Vogue. From me, to you, here is what I think is the best synthesis of the Fall trends:

If you're the kind of woman who likes anonymity in her wardrobe--who prefers the utilitarian uniform of an all-white pantsuit or a little black shift to any bold statement of personal style--this, frankly, isn't your season. Hold on to your hats: Fall is going to blow in like a gale, on the winds of what we're calling hyperfashion--all the best pieces exaggerated, pushed to the nth degree. Prints are kinetic or magnified. Fabrics are slicked up or metallicized. Even minimalist silhouettes are coming on stronger, pieced together in cool intersecting planes of flat, powerful colour. Many of the best workday looks fall from shoulders as wide as clothes hanger. Hair is windblown, lips a slash of unabashed matte red. Chic is a confidence game. Go big or go home." 

Indeed, as Sarah Mower writes in another piece from the same issue, "2012 will surely go down as the year fashion exploded." From opulent embellishments (think back to the Chanel's show at Versailles-- it was Cruise, I know, but you get my point) to oversized minimalism (think to the small presentation of Celine's oversized everything); from the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (think leather galore) to Anna Karenina (think Louis Vuitton journey to opulence); from oxblood to pastels; and beyond. This is Fall 2012. Stay tuned as I'll try to dissect it a bit in the next posts.


Photos: Chanel at Versailles by Societe Perrier; Celine's oversize coat by Celine; Louis Vuitton ad campaign by Purseblog; leather galore by Fashion Bomb Daily.