SPRING RTW 2009- Trends

Rising temperatures, budding flowers, slinky frocks and lightweight shorts come out to celebrate the passing of winter and the arrival of new beginnings, fresh starts and a rather interesting interpretation of current times. Of course, as spring usually brings the staples which bring joy to our lives (lights, brights and minimalism), we have an interesting array of trends that set a new standard for a particularly fun season. Welcoming blacks and lengthy silhouettes is particularly uncharacteristic for warmer months however, it seems as though many fashion houses have adopted these elements into an unforgettable crossroad of unconventional and classic spring favorites.


While it is hard to ever discount black and erase this option from any season, you can't help but notice how many black options are available come the warmer months of 2009. Its surprisingly abundant presence writes a new chapter in the laws of spring dress, allowing for day and night, casual/formal occasions to be painted head to toe in black. While some could interpret this statement as the world's response to the demise of economic prosperity, others can relish the simple fact that we are breaking unwritten sartorial laws that prevent us from thinking outside the box. Whatever your interpretation, fashion allows for unique ideas that provide a public outcry to the changing climates of our lives. Whether we are mourning or embracing, black becomes a new staple for traditionally non-black wearing occasions.


With the world of fashion advancing before our very eyes, it is only natural to assume that our idealized vision of future dress becomes part of the present. What we once considered mod and space-age is created to remind ourselves, "this is what we once thought the future to be, and now we are living in these days". Now as it stands, we can create our own idealized vision of futuristic fashion in the hopes that one day soon we can say "isn't this funny? We used to think that this is how people are going to dress in the future!" With that said, designers from Philip Lim to Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Rucci to Dries Van Noten, these fashion houses did exactly that. By showcasing an eclectic collection using geometric patterns and shapes, the fusion of sleek silhouettes and structured, somewhat architectural elements helps remind us that we are living everyday as if we are in the land of tomorrow.


In recent years, the goddess dress seems to be a pretty big staple in the world of spring dress. Budding from a retro/vintage boho-chic look, many designers adopted this look that would otherwise stick to shorter, more form-fitting options. While it is hard to pinpoint the origin of the look, we can only assume that women prefer to make a much more dramatic presentation while enjoying the hottest days of the year. From cotton jersey to silk chiffon, the long draped dress with the empire waist allows for an elaborate entrance whether you are at Cipriani's or Starbucks.


Some of the most nostalgic spring/summer things are yellow: the sun, flowers, lemonade, bees... It would only seem right to create a spring line that celebrates this color. Albeit the predictable, repetitive nature that spring collections show florals, lightweight fabrics, and brighter colors, yellow has been paired with a few left-of-middle combinations that are by no mean considered warm-weathered clichés. A form-fitting yellow option is about as random as an off-the-shoulder trench, but that's what makes fashion fun! Who dares to write these rules; laws in which we must all abide by. I think the idea of options created to counteract its original purpose is a marvelous idea. To top things off, yellow seems to be crossing the bridge from cute to sexy. Does anyone else see this? Not to insult red, of course, but we have to wonder if some colors are due for a new meaning. In this case, spring has adopted the age-old option of yellow, yet again, however has brought some remarkable twists that give this hue a much more pleasant return.


An Economics professor at my school so wonderfully put that at the height of economic success, the dresses and skirts worn by women seem to hit the floor, yet at times when the economy rendered a blatant downfall, the length to which women wore their clothes began to hike up. The worse the economy, the higher the skirts. Interesting. The crash of the stock market in 1929 sent women into a frenzy of short-length dresses and skirts, the likes of which no individual has ever witnessed in the past. Could we directly link the length of women's skirts and dresses with the economy? A flurry of mini's have decorated the runway like tinsel; a nod to the hard times ahead. Either way, the presence of the mini has brought a few key elements back into the picture: less focus on bottoms and more spotlight on a specific top that craves more attention, accessories and... legs. What more could we ask for?

An eclectic compilation of choices for the spring season brings us to a complete stop as we shift our understanding of fashion into a completely different realm. How we once defined the thick black lines of fashion have been blurred-out or smudged, allowing less strict definition and more flexible meanings of current dress and style.