A new fashion season approaches. After S/S20 was something of a wash-out for retailers, hopes will be pinned on business picking up during this season. And it’s up to PRs to drive interest in brands, designers and stores ahead of September. Good luck with that. I say this with empathy because I’m doing the same thing in many ways – trying to pitch ideas that will stick with editors. But it’s tricky when it comes to fashion. While a new season is traditionally a time of trends, trends, trends, that doesn’t feel quite right now.
Fashion is a performance art – it’s so much about having a public stage to perform your style upon, and we are all still stepping onto that stage tentatively, aware that we might have to rush backstage again if there’s a second wave of the pandemic.
However, what I’m sensing is a desire for clothes that are comfortable and yet have something interesting to say – colour clashes, loud checks, unusual cuts and volumes. Even the black dress that designers delivered in bucketloads for this season is cut in and around the body in a dynamic way.
All I’m saying is that it might be time to stop pitching loungewear and start talking about all that is individual and exciting about fashion again.