So, let me try to help decipher the hundreds of fashion shows that took place at the recent autumn/winter 2019 fashion week month in New York, London, Milan and Paris.
The summary is there was lots of tailoring. Especially blazers and suiting for men and women.
A little bit 80s; specifically the early 80s. You need only look at Hedi Slimane’s latest collection at Celine for his riff on “old Celine” to get an idea; the kind of outfits once worn by bourgeois French women strutting down the Rue Cambon.
One chic outfit in particular was a lesson in elegant styling a woollen pinstripe suit layered over a cashmere roll neck sweater, accessorised with aviator sunglasses. If fashion trends are seen as a mirror of what’s happening globally (miniskirts = buoyant economy! minimalism = recession!) then razor sharp tailoring should help you feel pulled together in a world trying to keep up with corrupt politics, global warming, dominating smartphones and bleak headlines.
Sure a blazer isn’t going to cure modern-day anxiety, but it may help you feel (for want of an otherwise overused word in fashion) “empowered”. But that’s the great thing about clothes; aside from the practical, they can be mood-enhancers too.
Consider a slick wardrobe exemplified by the rigorous tailoring at Balenciaga; or the oversized blazers and splayed collars shown by London-based label Kwaidan Editions; or perhaps the broad shoulders and nipped in waists at Stella McCartney, as if plucked from Murphy Brown's wardrobe.
For something closer to home may I suggest a beautifully cut blazer from Juliette Hogan or Georgia Alice?
And you can't look past Helen Cherry's collection of sharp trousers. They're the business.
