Fall/Winter 05/06 has some of
the most gorgeous deep rich vibrant colours and equally plush fabrics.
Accents of colour combined with regal fabrics add touches of sophistication
and glamour to new trends. Current colours are deep rich violet purples,
wine reds, burnt ginger tones, moss greens, mustard, and teal. To that
list add black and white plus greys and oyster shell tones.
Mustard never fares well as a
main fashion colour, but often appears purely as a gold trimming and is
attractive in that form. The burnt gingers are perfect for natural
leathers, furs and skins and lend themselves well to metallic coppers and bronze
effects. Whilst there are some lighter tones of the main colours, depth
of colour and deep dyes are the current colour trends for Autumn Winter 2005/6.
All of these colours have
tones which move off them and jewel tones are the main trends in fashion
colours for Fall 2005 - Winter 2006. This is a richly dark vibrant
palette rather than a pastel palette, however, I predict that next spring you will see powdery pastels flowing through from this range.
Autumn 2005 -
Winter 2006 colour palette includes :-
rose raspberry
red to rich ruby wine, cranberry, scarlet, rich coral red...
red oxide
through to ginger to burnt orange, caramel, copper, mustard yellow...
.... note the sludge
like colours of avocado, olive, forest green, moss green, limed khaki
green, to clear colours like palest
chartreuse green to emerald....
rich warm
browns and autumnal chocolates, peaty earth tones, creamy champagne, white
pepper, oyster grey and flesh tones.
Finally black can stand alone
again or is mixed with white or grey, perhaps simply trimmed
with red or black items styled with navy items. See 3 main
colour fashion mood boards
here.
Purple from every hue to
aubergine toned navy is predicted to be a major colour this autumn.
Purple often
on the verge of navy is featured by many main stores. UK outlets of Phase
Eight have gorgeous
purple velvet and enamel shoes and you can find other similar items at
Debenhams' Designers. Fendi have taken purple right through from Shearling to
purple watch bands. Even
Tesco's Florence and Fred range have velvet jackets in purple.
Midnight blue and midnight black evening dresses make red carpet statements.
Victorian Gothic can be dark and mysterious. This midnight navy satin
blouse, velvet skirt and corset belt above are from the
Topshop AW 05/06
collection. Note the depth of the waist cinching corset belt.
Subtle expensive
creams through greys and oysters vie with myriad metallic colours. Dior
showed a taupe grey creamy colour which was a very expensive looking colour that
seemed to come from the inner shell of an oyster.
Metallic gold
glamour moves through coppers, bronzes, pewter and silvers in the coming
months. Burnished soft metallic colours figure strongly especially on
satins, silks, footwear and belts. Leathers and satins shimmer gold, silver,
pewter, copper and bronze.
Bronzed, burnished gold and silvered effects are predicted to be
big fad and not only for fashion clothing, bags and footwear, but also for interiors too. Glitz with precious metal and bejewelled looks
create an opulence not seen for decades.
You may
already have noted that black has returned, but this is the not the
pared down austere black of the 1990s. The best use of black this
season is when created in velvet or lace. The new black often has
subdued and subtle decoration. This is black with texture and structure.
Plush Black Velvet
Black Sheen
Black Lace
Designers
used a range of divine luxury fabrics from black silk, black gauze, Persian lamb,
black taffeta, black
velvet,
panne velvet
black denim, black cashmere, black jet, corduroy, black suede and
Shearling. For evening there are strapless and spaghetti strap
little black lace dresses of feminine tulle and lace.
The
decoration may be as simple as a metallic button trim, or it may have
contrast fabric such as velvet layered on other fabrics or it may be
subtly printed or contrasted with silks and satins.
Look out for touches that say updated black. Watch for self colour
and contrast Soutache
and rich cord trims or regalia, embroidered emblem badges and epaulette
touches.
Black lace will be
especially popular and leans toward gothic when in Victorian mode and
also features strongly in lace underwear ranges.
Black may be textured as in Persian Lamb skins. Other names of
this are Astrakhan, Karakul and Broadtail. It's not flat and dull, but
glistens with texture.
This black
is not minimalist black as in the 1990s, but uses a range of opulent and
luxurious fabrics that lift any recollection of 90’s sombre minimalism. Rich deep plush velvet, black satin, black lace and black just accented
with white or red is the look that claims 2005.
If black is too draining for you there are plenty of alternative
choices especially within the
Russian
Look which is richly colourful and
often more flattering to many women.
Subtle expensive
creams through greys and oysters vie with endless hints of metallic colours and
can all be a nice soft foil for the harshness of black. Older
women should ask themselves does black flatter their skin as much as it
did 20 years ago.
So should
you think yes black is for me, don’t just rush out and buy any black
item, look carefully at what is around before you purchase. You
may already have some black basics in your wardrobe that can easily be
updated by the right accessories or addition of this season's line of
cropped jacket.
Tailored items flatter most figures so it’s hard to go wrong with the
purchase of a neater leaner jacket this autumn compared to a full on
matching suit. Choose black and invest in one figure flattering
special remarkable zingy piece that fits to perfection, such as a Russian
braided military jacket that has a cropped feel.
Expect to see lots of
contrasting tones of black fabric laid side by side. Fabric colourists
know there are about 42 shades of black, which is why when you buy a black
item you must match the item with the garment with you, or buy from the same
range.
Wearing navy with black is
no longer considered a faux pas, but just as I never desired wearing
patterned Wellingtons this is one thing I can't ever imagine adopting,
although circa 1962 dark brown was often mixed with black to great effect in
check fabrics.
Luxurious rich fabrics
and antique brocade fabrics, metallic lustre and rich satins and the
plushest of velvets bring a new opulence to winter.
Rich colours are often
interpreted with Ombre dyed materials like velvets that move through related
colours. Imagine burnt orange merging with reds through to claret in Ombre
dyed velvet. Such a velvet is then over printed in toning colours or textured with
embroidery. Velvet as well as being plush and deeply
rich can also have texture and appliqué and is generally gorgeous this
winter with an antique
vintage feel.
Think of highwayman maxi
length claret velvet coats worn with soft light aubergine shoes
so one colour flows to another equally rich contender for attention.
If shoes are not velvet, they may just as easily be made of suede another über
luxury material.
In addition to rich plush velvet
there will be panne velvet, corduroy, suede, Shearling, leather reptilian skins, boiled wool, suitings and tweeds of many types all contrasted with fluffy fur, dull
crepes, lace, satins and silk, graphic and Pucci style abstract and
paisley prints.
The
rich pattern of paisley prints featured at DKNY and it certainly suits the
folkloric look. Cubist paint techniques as prints will
lead us into Spring 2006 and stencil print effects will gain in popularity.
British Country Style
Tweeds have been out in force, but this year
tweed has the often less textural flatter finish. It looks more
like Harris tweeds, flat plaids or old familiar checks such as black and
white puppy dog, dog’s tooth and hound's tooth checks. In the
basic monochrome black and white scheme it can be very sharp and smart
exuding a powerful look.
Boldly vibrant coloured checks, colourful tartans and tweeds are all used in coats, dresses and skirts.
Expect to see not only tweed capes, tartan mini skirts
and argyle knits, but also Prince of Wales checks, herringbone tweeds
and pinstriped man suiting trousers. Look out for Donegal tweeds in
browns and creams and coloured tartans such navy blue Tartan and green plaid
kilts as shown by Paul Smith.
Distressed leather,
crocodile effects and fur is used abundantly and combined with hardware
buckles, lace eyelets, grommets, pompoms and embroidered braids.
Shearling dyed red,
moss green and brown gives an exotic unexpected appearance to skins.
Sheepskin is predicted to be a huge trend because it's comfortable, warm and practical. But the sheepskin look has been around a few seasons and is now
'tired'. However, sheepskin can have the
effect of making you look like
Mr Blobby or Michelin man so go easy on this look and choose carefully and wisely. Check with
trusty
friends if you look like a human teddy bear before parting with cash.
Embroidery continues to decorate skirts and is mostly combined with
appliqué or follows new looks with Romanian/Russian influence of cross
stitch peasant bandings and old traditional rustic designs. Embroidered
Austrian ribbons are often applied to square yokes. Embroidery
patterns translate into knitted shrugs with a Peruvian colour mix. Feathers
are often combined in craftwork to create innovative textures.
Designer shoes frequently have lace and beading.
Deep pearl trims feature around armholes and
on pockets at Chanel. Feathers are also used to decorate items.
Many knits
have over long sleeves and some have hardware belts and buckles in pairs on jacket
sleeves at the lower hems of sleeves.
Long
cardigan jackets and coats are repeatedly trimmed with fur collars or
dressed with a narrow fur edge.
The oversized cardigan jacket and asymmetric cardigan wraps are an
interesting diversion from traditional knitwear.
Textured 1940s knits such Aran knits,
not especially in the traditional cream but in richer deep colours such
as creams, teal and rust feature in many collections. These
cable knits are in colours of gingers and greens and often have extra
dimension with crochet motifs added.
Argyle cashmere cardigans and sweaters
have a new fresher feel.
Intarsia in knitwear is
back again. Pringle for example feature a vivid rich turquoise and pink rose intarsia knit sweater
in their autumn ad campaign. This sweater is exceptionally feminine with its 50s feel.
Striped Pompom scarves
and pompom decoration is a designer look and very easy to make yourself.
This is the sort of look that Accessorize and Per Una adapts well.
Pattern in
knit is used by all the major manufacturers and expect to see a great deal
of fair isle, ikat, bold abstract and paisley arrangements.
In the main, this autumn has a great deal of emblematic decoration such
as epaulette and hemline edge trim. Naval styling and brass buttons from
bright gold to antique finish add interest to pea jackets and military
styles. Hobbs do an excellent pea jacket.
Retro footwear has tassels and hardware such as Rivet studs are
frequently used wherever leather appears.
Corset lacing is used in a decorative way not only on corsets, but
especially on boots, bags, sleeves. Saddle stitching and 8mm Topstitching
in contrast white or cream all start to appear on coats and jackets.
Interiors are using feathers and this has filtered into fashion
looks. Upcoming trends in home styling for 2005 are metallic
accessories and rich plusher fabrics. The return of velvets and brighter
patterned grand wallpaper with ornate patterns is paralleled in fashion
clothing.
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