TRENDS: Fashion by Cristina Morozzi

The trend is to dress to be yourself, not to be trendy. And when making purchases, quality is a must, both in terms of material and craftsmanship.

Fashion is back on the scene after taking a hiatus over the past couple of years. The watchwords for the upcoming season are sustainability, quality, innovation and sobriety, which are juxtaposed with colour – with a prevalence of grey and yellow, Pantone’s 2021 colours of the year – and natural colours as well as floral, optical, graphic and patchwork prints.

In terms of style, there’s a hint at the ‘70s and a revival of the ‘90s, heritage fashion, and know-how.

Hermès artistic director Pierre Alexis Dumas says that “with 200 years of experience in leather processing, the brand is getting back to work and brainstorming on new ideas and new applications in transforming materials. We need to reinvent ourselves, based on a long-term vision and not just a seasonal one. Innovation can’t just involve a single product: it has to be a destination”. And he adds, “we’re counting down before the launch of a rocket to the moon”.

Thanks to Miuccia Prada’s collaboration with Raf Simons, Prada is bringing a classic: the use of nylon in sombre all black, accompanied by outfits in pink or printed fabrics. Armani’s daring collection is in red, as they invite us to choose “necessary luxury”, while Anthony Vaccarello for Saint Laurent revives the use of latex. Opposites attract: plain colours are matched with patterned prints, and soft shades are used with bright colours.

Ultimately, the trend is simply to dress to be yourself instead of to be trendy. When making purchases, quality is a must, both in terms of materials and craftsmanship. Clothes must be used, loved and, potentially, passed on to the next generation. Brands that constantly modernise while remaining faithful to their roots are preferred.

Vivienne Westwood invites us to consume less, while Valentino chooses the beauty of diversity: “new fashion for a new dream”. The common denominator of many collections is a “return to nature”: light colours, light fabrics, accessories in straw, wood and reed, and essential pieces such as tunics and shirt dresses.

And last but not least, there’s a prevalence of handmade and recycled materials.

Cristina Morozzi