The international runway adds to the confusion, and sheer fabrics,but this season designers were thinking of 9am to 5pm,rather than 9pm to 5am.
Back to work on the Milan runway. Fendi,Prada,Max Mara and Emporio Armani.AP,Getty,Supplied
At the Prada show in Milan,luminous white shirts were tucked into sensible slim trousers while other models borrowed from designer Miuccia Prada’s signature look of grey knitwear with a skirt.
“Beauty here is determined not by aesthetic,but by action – garments are signs,representations of the beauty of care,of love,of reality,” Prada and co-designer Raf Simons wrote in the notes accompanying the show. Translation? Basics are back.
On the Fendi runway,a reality check also took place,with designer Kim Jones drawing inspiration from the business wardrobe of jeweller Delfina Delettrez Fendi,with bias-cut trousers in grey menswear fabrics worn with mackintoshes and ice blue shirts. The sequin lining of bone coats offered a surprisingly subtle style promotion.
“It all started with Delfina,” Jones says. “There’s a chicness but a perversity to the way she twists Fendi,which is what I love.”
While some trends take years to travel from Europe,a more practical approach to dressing is already evident in Australia – sequins optional.
At Bassike,co-founders Deborah Sams and Mary Lou Ryan launched a capsule collection called Uniform this month,comprising essential jackets,trousers,shirts,singlets,merino knitwear and jersey skirts.
“It is inspired by the way I dress,which is probably a bit selfish,” Sams says. “I’ve always worn draping pants with classic cotton shirts. It’s classically Bassike and feels authentic to me.”
The inspiration for an edit of foundation pieces from the label’s17-year-old archive,geared towards purposeful purchases,followed a collection that pushed the brand’s creative boundaries.
“Our resort collection was super fun and playful with lots of expensive beautiful,fabrics,” Sams says. “It was also harder to wear and a bit more aspirational.”
“Creating Uniform was a matter of instinct about getting back to our DNA. These designs have always been there. It’s just that the fun directional pieces usually get the limelight.”
In the weeks following its launch Uniform has performed strongly at the checkout.
“All of our customers are loving it,” Sams says. “We have made it easier for them. So much of being a designer is about editing.”
Melbourne designer Courtney Holm from circular fashion label A.BCH has noticed an increase in customers seeking uniform pieces to carry them through the autumn season.
Skivvy T-shirts,organic linen skirts and classic tailored trousers in navy have become the stress-free Monday morning go-to items for people with a preference for functional fashion.
“With the right selection and considered fit,people feel more like themselves when they’re getting dressed,rather than trying to be someone they’re not,” Holm says.
It’s a dramatic shift from dopamine dressing,which defined post-lockdown wardrobes with bold pinks,intricate details and extravagant accessories.
“We are stripping away the expectation to fit a trend,” Holm says. “We are also getting the price conscious customer who will come in and buy one or two things and use that with their existing items because they feel it would be better not to be buying so much.”
“Just don’t call it a uniform. For me,that’s a vision of people in a sea of grey suits and that’s not what’s happening. It’s about finding the core pieces that people feel confident investing in.”
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