Above: Whimsical femininity at Nina Ricci, a retro vibe at La Perla, Marc Jacobs orient and Christopher Kane’s tribalism.

There were unifying elements between the various designers exhibiting at the Fashion Week shows that extended beyond similar color palettes and the embracement of pleating. A few distinct themes appeared that made it easier to recognize where fashion is heading in the near future.

Whimsically Feminine
Bows adorned garments at Chloe and Dolce & Gabana while designers like Nina Ricci and Erdem took inspiration from ballerinas for their ribbons, ruffle and lace details. Broderie Anglais- a type of lace work involving embroidery and cutwork- appeared on a majority of the runways. Ruffles were also seen on too many runways to name.

Blast from the Past
The roaring twenties appeared to have influenced the tiered flapper style dresses at Balenciaga and the tiered fringe and tassels adorning several pieces at Alberta Ferretti.

A late ’60s, early ’70s vibe dominated La Perla through flared pants and peasant blouses. Gucci trotted out Bianca Jagger style pant suits with tilted fedoras.

Stella McCartney’s use of slouching shirts over cropped pants evoked the 1980s. Gucci paired bold, nearly clashing colors. The “rock” in the Rock and Republic was obviously inspired by the heavy metal glam rock bands of that decade.

Designers like Calvin Klein and Costume National tried out their predictions with futuristic designs utilizing geometric cuts, 3 D shaping and crinkled, shimmering fabrics.

World View

Orientalism was strongly hinted at in the kimono style dresses at Fendi, the brocade prints at Marc Jacobs and the obi belts at Louis Vuitton.

Ethnic and tribal prints dominated the collections. Tory Burch had rich prints based on Marrakech gardens. Animal prints were embraced by Dior, Zac Posen (who loves his leopard) and Christopher Kane (who upped the ante with nontraditional colors).

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