Fashion has rejected its current minimalist aesthetic and heartily embraced colour.
One day you're in and the next day you're out: that's fashion. And with the ever-increasing cycle of fashion, what was on the runways last season is oversaturated by the time it reaches the shops. Case in point: the "new minimalism" which you may have heard about it in your latest issue of British Vogue, or read about on one of a million blogs dedicated to the collections from Celine, Stella McCartney and Chloe, or seen on the runway at New Zealand Fashion Week last month.
For those who aren't aware of fashion's recent penchant for stripping it back, it includes everything from camel coats, smart trousers, sensible colours and classic handbags. It was a refreshing trend because it rejected trends, and one that saw many jump on the classic bandwagon. Louis Vuitton's feminine shapes, Chloe's camel coats, Celine's opaque pieces that didn't expose anything inappropriate, Prada's 1950s inspiration, Marc Jacobs' pretty return to sartorial sanity; these were clothes that women could actually wear to work and beyond, largely described as "investment purchases".
But now, almost too self-consciously, fashion is rejecting this minimalist aesthetic. At recent fashion weeks in New York, Milan and London, designers seemed to do a total 180 by heartily embracing colour.
In New York, Marc Jacobs went 1970s with shades of orange, purple, red and mustard, Karen Walker's "Perfect Day" collection featured acid bright colours contrasted with muted shades, while in Milan, Raf Simons invented a new fashion phrase when describing his stunning collection for Jil Sander: "maximal". Think couture shapes in neon bright shades of orange, pink, yellow and Yves Klein blue.
Meanwhile young designer Christopher Kane embraced colour too, with his namesake line's latest collection featuring neon colour and his work for Versace's diffusion line Versus including block colour and an array of brightly hued tartans. Miuccia Prada went bananas, literally, with a collection featuring bold blocks of bright colour sitting next to jungle and banana prints and acid bright stripes; she described it as "brave colour".
Locally the trend for subtle pastels is still prevalent, but some are embracing colour for summer: Deborah Sweeney's current season collection is made up of cheery tones of red, blue, emerald green and bubblegum pink, State of Grace's range includes bright blue jackets, while some of Kate Sylvester's standout pieces include bright orange and green dresses. Ruby's next winter collection, shown at Fashion Week, also featured bright injections of chartreuse, forest green and watermelon. Think of Glee's neurotic guidance counsellor Emma Pillsbury, who favours pops of head to toe monochromatic colour.
The only rules when it comes to this new passion for colour seems to be the brighter and more obnoxious the better - fortunately it also looks fantastic teamed with those neutral "investment" pieces you may have already bought.
