Stimuli

Last week Vancouver Fashion Week (VFW) debuted, sprinkling the West coast city of ours with a healthy dose of colourful creativity, new trends, and outstanding fashion for the upcoming Spring/Summer 2012 season. Although most of the shows feature women’s apparel, the event has grown tremendously over the past few years and now displays many designers who focus on making men look their best. From basic tees to genderless style clothing, the items shown on runways around the city are a great way to look past the gloomy days of winter that await and guess which new styles with grace storefronts come March.

Who’s the Elephant in the Room?
A relative new comer, Vanishing Elephant displayed their Spring/Summer 2012 collection featuring crochet-knit tops and what else but elephant-embroidered pants. Although the line is often described as somewhat eccentric, its refreshing simplicity in terms of cut and style are a sign that this line is going in the right direction.

For men, for women, for both.
Ever since Jean-Paul Gaulthier brought up the idea of a man’s skirt almost 30 years ago, designers have attempted to create pieces that could be worn by both men and women. Rick Owen’s designs at this year’s VFW approached the concept of genderless clothing as a way to open the public’s mind to a blurring of gender lines. Think cotton dresses and skirts—staples of dress in warmer eastern countries and conventional dress for men and women. It may be a difficult idea to grasp when society has created a specific definition of what a man should wear, but today’s designers are beginning to see a trend toward decreasing these well-defined gender roles and offer a new way of thinking as this movement continues forward.

Think Bright.
Last year, we saw many designers attempting to break the monochromatic mould of the pant. While rainbows of grey, black, and beige are great for creating a multi-use wardrobe, they do little for instilling life and personality. At this year’s VFW, designers such as Derek Lam and Mugler played with the coloured trouser concept, offering a variety of hues so that the wearer can buy into the trend without stepping too far out of their comfort zone. You may not be ready for a pair of neon green pants, but a creamy yellow may go great with that navy blazer you have hanging in your closet.
 

by Tanya Colledge
Contributor to Stimuli Magazine

Image Credits: Vancouver Fashion Week Blog: Vanishing Elephant and A Bright Future