F/W 2011-2012 Textile Trends

ltr: Tissavel Int'L SAS of France, Shindo Item Catalog, Alexander Henry Fabrics

I'm covering the Fall/Winter 2011-2012 textile collections at the LA Textile Show this week and I'm seeing a surge in plush textures, heavily embellished surfaces and 70s graphic stripes.

Faux fur has a come a long way, and there were tons of fabulous examples at the LA Textile Show - some mimicking natural furs and others using perforated and patchwork techniques. Expect to see a wide range of faux fur that looks very real next fall.

Reflecting some of the hottest trends happening on the runway and the red carpet are heavy surface embellishments. Flowers, jewels, or a combination of both are lavishly decorative and dazzling, and easily applied using embellished bib trims.

A strong pattern trend is the 70s graphic stripe. Reflecting Marc Jacobs’ recent spring/summer 2011 collection are the Missoni style stripes and chevron striping in different colors, scales and variations. My favorite was a large-scale, psychedelic version by Alexander Henry Fabrics.

For the complete Fall/Winter 2011-2012 LA Textile Show report, check wgsn.com next week.

LA Textile Show

The LA Textile Show started today.

If you're planning to attend, make sure you check out the fabric gallery curated by WGSN in the Market Center foyer. It's a great exhibit from which to draw inspiration for the Fall/Winter 11/12 season, as well as information about our trend directions and the textiles that go with each theme.

You can also visit us at our booth (# 808) on the showroom floor to learn more about WGSN's new platform Fontis, or attend our seminar tomorrow at 11am.

I will be talking about emerging fabric trends and explaining more about our three macro trend directions for Fall/Winter 2011/12. I'll also be giving a preview of our Spring/Summer 2012 color and textile directions.

For more information or to register, please go here.

Coterie - Top three brands

ltr: Pleasure Doing Business, Circle Collection, Lauren Moffatt

• Pleasure Doing Business only did bod-con dresses and bandeau skirts until now. For S/S 2011 they have extended the line by adding printed leotards and leggings, and tutu skirts to the collection. My favorite items at Coterie include their distorted photo-realistic printed leotards with architectural all-over prints, mirroring buildings from either LA or NY, giving the pattern an almost kaleidoscopic like effect.
  


• NY based Circle Collection has been around for three years, yet this is the brand's first time at Coterie. All items from Circle Collection are based on the circular shape. By adding no detail or stitching to the garments, the items have a dramatic effect when draped and/or folded to become a dress, a full length vest, a skirt etc. All styles come in three different materials but only the heavy wool felt comes in three colors, the rest come only in black. The length of the garment defines the difference in size.
  


• Although Lauren Moffatt is a veteran at Coterie, the “Honeymoon Collection” caught my eye instantly with retro styles and details resembling icing on a cake. The New York based brand is most famous for dresses in vintage inspired fabrics and chunky fun hardwear details. “It is all about different darling outfits”, says the designer herself. The “Honeymoon Collection” is based on a photograph of the designer’s mother, taken on her honeymoon. It is a revival of the late 60’s and early 70’s with its mod-inspired cuts and frivolous, feminine detailing. I especially like the cape and the A-line mini-dress.

The full Coterie report goes live on Friday, October 1^st on www.wgsn.com.

Catfish: the other Facebook movie

While everyone is gearing up to see the much-anticipated The Social Network, which opens nationwide on October 1st, another Facebook film (already in theatres) has critics and audiences buzzing. I wanted to know what all the talk was about, so I caught a late night showing on Monday and am still feeling the emotional effects.

Catfish, a narrative documentary created by filmmakers Ariel "Rel" Schulman and Henry Joost, tells the story of Shulman's brother Nev, a photographer in New York City, who develops a friendly relationship with an 8-year-old girl from rural Michigan, Abby, via Facebook. Nev's online, phone and snail-mail relationship expands to Abby's entire family including her older sister, Meg, with whom he has a budding romance. When Nev decides to surprise the family with a face-to-face meeting at their home in Michigan, saddening mysteries and startling discoveries turn the film into a dark thriller.

Whether or not it's real is a question one asks immediately after seeing the film, and perhaps we'll never know, but Catfish forces viewers to examine the ways in which we use social networks.

At WGSN, we are constantly discussing how these communication tools effect our daily lives and interpersonal relationships, and I found Catfish to be an eye opening look into who is actually using Facebook, and for what.

The Way We Wore opens in NY

Vintage expert Doris Raymond has opened a new showroom in New York in response to her many clients there and in Europe, who may travel to NY more often than LA.

She told me: "I see this as a tremendous opportunity to see my European clients more frequently."

The showroom is strictly by appointment and Raymond and her team need about a week's lead time to prepare and pre-select items to make the appointment worthwhile.

"When a designer or a design team have a direction they are going for (anything from clothing, shoes, purses, outerwear, bathing suits, lingerie, etc) they should call Kris Goojha at 917-250-6800 for an appointment. Hours are flexible and we are here to serve the design community," Raymond said.

If you're not a design professional, but are a fan of Raymond's LA store, don't despair. Although the space in NY is not a store open to the general public, Raymond says she is thinking about doing two or three trunk shows a year for her NY retail clients.

The address is 336 W. 37th Street. Suit 980 NY, NY 10018. Tel: 917-250-6800.

We Love...PUMA BIKES

WGSN is excited over the launch of Puma’s new bike collection. Expanding on the already existing Puma bike business, the sports giant has just released an innovative line of elegant city bikes.
The range, including men’s, women’s and unisex bikes, offers impeccable style and functionality. The integrated signature lock is still offered along side additional racks and baskets to fit the busy urbanite’s lifestyle on the go.

After the mass oversaturation of mountain bikes in the US, the focus has shifted towards more stylish, yet utility-driven styles. In an effort to become a carbon neutral company, Puma is promoting alternative commuting means for the city dwellers.

NYC’s Hudson Urban Bicycles, www.hudsonurbanbicycles.com, is the first retailer to offer the styles for sale.

If you are in New York this weekend, make sure to join Puma, the Bicycle For a Day non-profit organisation and Hudson Urban Bicycles for the 1^st Annual Downtown Upright Bicycle Ride on a tour of downtown Manhattan. For complete schedule, post BBQ and line-up, make sure to check: www.puma-bikes.com

New next spring

Among those on the runway today were Vena Cava and Cushnie et Ochs, the latter a stronger collection than ever. New lines launched, too. Here's a quick look at WHIT, Blanksilk and Alex Casertano (in his second season), all of which were featured in our NY Fashion Week preview on WGSN.

(From left) Alex Casertano, Blanksilk, WHIT

Kimberly Ovitz, spring/summer 2011

Kimberly Ovitz staged the best of today's presentations. She's good at creating easy, comfortable clothes that look much more discerning than those adjectives suggest. (We also blogged about her in November 2009). The angular set design was a nice complement to the more gently structured collection in black and white.

Bookmarc, New York

Marc Jacobs opened a small bookstore on Bleecker Street, cutely calling it Bookmarc. In June we covered OHWOW, a boutique bookstore on Waverly, and at the time I remember one of our London editors saying she noticed a library theme getting stronger in store design.

Natural, tactile and 'slow' are fashionable qualities again, and books encourage lingering. But make no mistake -- they're mostly pictures.

Bookmarc, New York

Dallin Chase spring/summer 2011

New York Fashion Week technically starts tomorrow, but today might as well be day one. (My schedule is eight presentations long.)

Our first highlight is Dallin Chase by designer Jason Cauchi, who paired a playful color palette with contrasting textures. There's the green suede t-shirt, silk boucle jacket-with-short and the lace guipure cardigan in acid yellow.

Cauchi said he was inspired by the idea of contrast, and clearly the masculine-feminine is at work; all the pretty young models wore Johnston & Murphy men's leather shoes.

WGSN launches Fontis

The Americas team are very excited by the launch today of the new, revamped WGSN. WGSN Fontis is a multi-channel, digital platform that will transform the WGSN user experience.

Not only will users of WGSN Fontis be able to search more effectively through our impressive 650,000 pages of content to find the relevant design packs, images, trend forecasts, market analyses, and reports that they rely on us to produce, they will also have a whole host of new tools at their fingertips, such as creating and editing mood boards, using our new visual search to find like-for-like images that inspire, integrated calendars and maps and more.

We've also been working hard at developing new content areas. Check out our new Celebrity, Pop Culture, Marketing, Juniors, Buying and Sourcing directories. You'll find them alongside all your usual WGSN favorites such as City by City and What's In Store.

To find out more or log in, go here.

Fur vests - What's in Store NY

ltr: Max Mara, Juicy Couture, Zara

With the fall collections in store, many brands are opting for trans-seasonal looks for the transition from chilly summer nights into fall. Layers are still very important with long sleeved t-shirts under short sleeved tees and shirts, thin superimposed jerseys and knitted separates to mix and match.

ltr: Intermix,Basic Basic, Chloe

And there's a lot of fur in the fall windows: different kinds of fur trimmings on collars and sleeves and fur detailing on bags and other accessories. But the fur and faux fur vests stood out most, as both high-end designers and midmarket giants showed similar styles. The two most prominent styles are the waist long square shapes (with or without a collar) and a longer, leaner V-neck vest, most often belted.