As part of my job I'm required to attend trend forecasts and utilize our various online trend services to get foresite about what's up & coming and what's hot, often observing a gazillion runway shots in the process.Sometimes I come out of the forecasts more confused then when I went in because they try to include every facet, color, style, and area of trend in order to satisfy all of their clients which range from ready-to-wear apparel to every category in accessories (handbags, shoes, jewelry, umbrellas, scarves, etc.) You get the picture.
Recently one thing has become clear in all the trend services I've used... RETRO FUTURISM is so in NOW! What the heck is retro-futurism, you ask? Ok, well as wikipedia puts it, it is:
"...an enthusiasm for the depiction of the future produced in the past."
For us lay people, imagine seeing a 20 something year old female dressed like Charlize Theron in the film Aeon Flux listening to Echo and the Bunnymen or better yet, David Bowie a la Ziggy Stardust, on her newly purchased iPhone, while sporting 70's disco ball earrings because she thinks they're "futuristic and cool". You've just witnessed retro-futurism. She wasn't born when Echo, Ziggy or 70's disco balls were cool, but for her, they all embodied a futuristic style. Ok, see where I'm going with this? NO? Let's just say its hip to envelope the futuristic trends of the past and yet dress savvy enough for life on a space station somewhere on the moon.
So while pyramid studs on accessories (think 80's punk rock) and round snake chains (think 70's disco) are NOT new things, there is definitely a new design take on them. It's just a matter of how you wear them and what you wear them with.
Keep your eyes open for more metallic fabrics also, but in pale, heavenly hues as well as bold, futuristic metal components such as mesh, disks, studs and mirrored balls on various clothing and accessories.
Above photos of Giuseppe Zanotti shoes, Wendy Nichol jewelry, assorted runway and magazine shots for fall/winter 2007
