As the 2017 Resort collections slowly start to show, the initial observations are solidifying, and the title of this week's blog sums things up clearly.
Three collections have come forth: Bottega Veneta, Oscar de la Renta and Sonia by Sonia Rykiel. These are established houses with an understanding of the bottom line and on the power of classic dressing regarding relevance and longevity. The deceptive simplicity and straightforwardness of the collections reflect the underlying mindsets that we carry.
One of the primary hallmarks of the 90s was the utilitarian aspect that saw houses survive the crash that set the decade up for years of austerity and a reigning in of explosive creativity from the decade before it. For all the excitement in breaking away to explore new forms and techniques, the 80s forced too many to keep up with a pace of change that could not be sustained by its growing audience. Leaning on more innocent and joyful times (joyful at least from the vintage entertainment that the 90s generation and its designers grew up on) coupled with the absence of vintage styles that could compete with the marketplace allowed the resurgence of the 70s' no-nonsense geometric cuts and embrace of the classics in odd colours and prints to proliferate. These mixed with the embrace of sportswear as daywear that the youth carried forth thanks to hip-hop cultures' rise. All of this plus the safety of the first incarnation of what we now call normcore set the stage for the foundation of the 90s and its differentiation from the prior decade...and the start of the retro fashion overload we now see as mainstream.
The bottom liner of these design directions linked the wearer to feelings of familiarity, comfort and safety, mirrored in the early 2000s after the horrors of 9/11. Now, we face similar fears of terrorism, tech bubbles, real estate woes and ugly politics with global environmental concerns as the norm. Not everything is doom and gloom...although the upcoming Olympics with the venue issues and the recent Russian doping scandal, this may not be the gleeful summer we hoped for. But it is an energetic one; through all collections we have the hard, clean cuts and structure in textiles to protect us, the familiarity of vintage cuts form times we now have romanced thanks to our distance form them, and the colours are off and bright. The unusual nature of the colours show us willing to go off the beaten path and the brightness shows energy. Sonia by Soni Rykiel holds to the athleisure ease while Oscar de la Renta maintains the ladylike poise via 40s and 50s cuts thrown in the 90s mix, giving clean sophistication and calm association. The defined contrast trim at Bottega Veneta underscores our boundaries. All houses keep it clean, restraining our form while allowing our "colour".
In reflection, all lines for this season so far show a fun mood while keeping things sensible. The use of cliched retro forms to convey expectations falls within our desire to be safe as we continue on. The technical aspects that we cannot escape, our 21st century innovations, is subtle in the textile and construction. These are kept under radar but not absent. Time will let us know what else will come out to shape the 2017 Resort picture, and for now we know it won't be anything too reckless. At least, that is the picture so far.