It can be difficult to look at a photo of a woman wearing sheer, beige-coloured underwear and body paint and think of how it can be applied to your wardrobe. This may have been what two models sashayed down the runway in during Romance Was Born’s majestic closing show of Fashion Week Australia but there were plenty of trends that can easily be applied to the civilian wardrobe.
Flats
Heels have been on the death march for a while now, with even Victoria Beckham succumbing and sales in the three biggest athletic shoes companies increasing 47% since 2009. Lorde (badly) danced her way through her music video for Green Light in a hot pink party dress and sneakers. Off-the-catwalk at Australian fashion week, slides and sneakers – mostly Adidas Stan Smiths – abounded. Ginger & Smart sent their models out in colourful sandals and white and grey sneakers were the footwear of choice for VMajor and Akira. Impeding your movement for ridiculously beautiful footwear/societal expectations is out, being able to concentrate on more important things than walking (like men have been doing for years) is in.
Ruffles
Originality is just undetected plagiarism as Dean Inge observed and so we are doomed to repeat the same trends for eternity. The 1980s are positively vintage now and among the questionable clothing choices coming back in vogue are ruffles. But, this time, they are good. Instead of raffia skirts and ruffle-lined socks we have a more refined version for 2017 with oversized shirts and roomy silhouettes being set off by big, loose ruffles down sleeves and bodices. The easiest way to translate this into your wardrobe are drop-hemmed dresses that slightly ruffles at the sleeves and on the hem of the skirt.
Colour
The muted and sophisticated shades favoured recently are on the way out and (three cheers) the fashion doyennes are allowing colour again. Khaki greens and burnt browns are being booted to the door by electric blues and crackling pinks. Metallic reds are also being found on jackets, hair accessories and as accents on T-shirts. Clashing colours were a big hit but if blue arm-length gloves teamed with a cascading rainbow dress is too much, you can just wear a bright top with your jeans.
Buttoned shirts
Of the many things millennials have ruined (boomer self-satisfaction; food photography; acronyms), office wear has to be the closest to a revolution. Jeans are not a rare sight even in bank offices, and hoodies have somehow become acceptable beyond the front door. The much-maligned traditional office wear has been given a makeover so it’s wearable as casual wear. Collared, buttoned shirts are being layered on top of buttoned shirts with flared sleeves and teamed with anything from slip dresses to shorts. In a blow to John Laws’s odd dress code, pants featured heavily in most collections. Billowing culottes that could almost be skirts, nipped in at the waist, were teamed with slouchy T-shirts and cropped cigarette pants were turned into resort wear with a more relaxed fit and – you guessed it – collared shirts.
Curls
In another somewhat surprising nod to the 80s, the runways were all about volume and curls. A super done look or perfectly coiffed blow-dry was out of place in the shows and in the front row with a more messy, worn in look reigning supreme. Think scrunching mousse in wet hair and sleeping on it, then pinning bits here and there. Double Rainbouu had brushed out curls, hair in Romance had been teased out for hours while Anna Quan favoured a softer wave
Bumbags
It’s going to seem like a good idea for about five minutes very soon.