The upcoming season we are awaiting is Spring Summer 2018. The last collection regarding this season, outside of recent reveals from Copenhagen that were discussed in last week's article, came out in mid-July. Since then, we have had to wait for the formal season to start in but a few weeks (September 7, in case you want specifics). But not all designers chose to adhere to tradition, deciding to release their collections earlier at a time when words such as "disruption" and "revolution" have been bandied about.

​The seas of change have swept over the world of fashion as the technical world has threatened to upend tradition in favour of remaining economically competitive and relevant. Online entities have successfully risen to meet the manner in which we now shop, spurred by younger generations and early adopters (yes, that would be primarily you, Generation X, the creators of all technical foundations we have come to rely on) that lead the charge. The handheld necessities we brandish have resulted in lifestyle and behavioural shifts and fashion has realized that "adapt or die" is now meant for it the most.

This translates into new approaches to every aspect from conceptualization and manufacturing to presentation and commerce. The struggle fashion now faces is figuring out how to navigate this landscape. Some, such as Burberry have modified its supply chain to accommodate the social media aspect of consumers lives. Others, such as Tom Ford have rejected the "see now buy now" model as they found it wasn't viable for the way their garments were created. The obstacle of forgoing craftsmanship and quality in the name of creating design influence benchmarks when it comes to trend leadership is a tough obstacle that still needs to be worked out within the industry.

​The result so far seems to be a release of rigid trend directions, favouring a wider latitude regarding inspiration and influence that balances individuality versus conformity. In looking at the collections released so far, the conformity is in the brand adaptation of communal agreement. The embrace of light structured volume, blocked assembly and 80s/90s cuts define the overall tone of the fashion conversation to date, while the individuality in the details needs closer attention when looking for common ground.

Naturalistic aspects honouring authenticity and the ecological conversation politics has shed light on has inspired in various ways. Some of it is architectural and deliberate in skew (A. F. Vandevorst, Cedric Charlier, Vetements) and some of it more organic (Kenzo, Proenza Schouler, Rodarte). Contrasting this, the lean towards the manufactured and technical is in gloss; the wet polish can be subdued (Kenzo, Vika Gazinskaya) or almost metallic (Julien David, Maison Rabih Kayrouz). These elements find themselves amidst their complements as we find ourselves at once seeking ways to preserve or save our natural world while marching forward with technology firmly in our grasp.

Whereas before the manufacturing times meant the conversations were more deliberate and the cut-offs limited, now we have much shorter design-to-market periods, and that means last-minute insights and conversational evolutions can mean new details in the name of being current and most relevant. So, between then and next month, a lot can become new inspiration that didn't appear when early releases were made. That is the danger in the fashion game that needs to be reconciled.

Some of the influence is due to reputation, and some of it is timely translation. Some designers are quite astute, and others might be too early to the conversation while others might miscalculate what matters since they spoke up. The only way we'll know and to what degree is when the Big Four release their collections and we find whether the unified voices are speaking along the same terms or whether they decided to change the conversation. Then, of course, the ultimate decision lies with the consumer and that is the part of the conversation fashion will be paying close attention to as these new designs come out.