Out of the Fall Winter 2016/17 collections, the most obvious pattern is that we are taking from the past to create our future. That is, the currently produced collections are an amalgamation of various periods brought together to convey how we feel (or how they believe we will feel) as the clothes hit the retail floors.

A part of this has to do with making emotional connections. This is much easier when referencing something that is already familiar with the public, such as cliche elements from various periods. We equate energy with the flapper look of the 20s or the micro-minis of the 60s, elegance and sophistication from the sculptural volumes of the late 50s, strength with 40s suiting and brash power with an 80s shoulder pad. A designer will take inspiration from the world around and translate the overall vibe into a collection of elements to create. 

This brings up the larger reason we see the past referenced. The larger reason is that our creative talent draws form what is familiar in their lives, and as this blog has repeated before, our current wave of talent is of the 20th century, and so a designer born of that period cannot escape the source in one's creative foundation. It is what they know.

There is no denying that creating anything for the future is a daunting task. Our historic review of futuristic fashion and predictions of fashions to come brings great amusement, revealing more about the existing period than anything else. A quick online search confirms this. Some aspects can be prescient, but only as one lives through the future predicted do we see how much they missed the mark versus what they got right.

Our fashion always tries to aim forward. Sometimes, in the interests of profit it sticks closer to the present. At other times the more adventurous creativity aims forward. The avant garde, in particular, seeks to break new ground and can be more instrumental in leading us forward. The avant garde of the 20s would be decades ahead of the pop art print expressions of the 60s and 70s or the free form architectural cuts of the 80s. the masculine embrace of the 30s and 40s would later be the gateway to androgynous dressing we now take for granted while the experiments with texture and dimensional detail would be at home in our 3D print landscape. We owe our current draping and asymmetry to the experimentation of the 80s. Dig deeper and you will find prior time periods forging deep paths.

But just as our fashion has power to push forward, we also tend to reach back to, as said earlier, connect at an emotional level. And while the last few years have seen more variety in the combination of past references, the more recent collections are not afraid to go past our last century either.

Designers are a curious lot. This is not to mean that they cause wonder (they do) but that they, like artists, hunger for inspiration and reach out to fill that need. They read, they explore, they open their eyes wide to draw in knowledge to broaden their information stores of inspiration. They bring knowledge of the past forward, knowing that we are cyclical in nature, and incorporate that into their collection's story, drawing elements that relate to our "now".

Creatives that know their history would get how our exploring boundaries and debate on open marriages as solutions to divorce rates parallels the demure acceptance of open marriages as an antidote to impersonal and sometimes resented arranged unions during medieval times. They would also know how contributions within family units for survival meant gender equality was far less an issue for the same period. no surprise to see such elements in collections from Fendi, Mother of Pearl, Nicopanda and Threeasfour.

The rise of creative expression in the arts, the growth of sciences and increase in our hunger for exploration is very much now...and was also a Renaissance and Elizabethan hallmark. Gucci cited the Renaissance as an inspiration source while Luisa Beccaria had some Renaissance elements. Giambattista Valli had hints of Elizabethan inspiration in some of its collars.

The economic instability of the Jacobean period that followed the Elizabethan era also dealt with disease; if they had the bubonic plague, we have Ebola and the Zika virus. But all was not bad back then: while beliefs ranged from religious to the supernatural and satire rose in entertainment, science experienced some great advancements, much like today. And the romantic dramatic fashion of that era found its way to Aganovich's collection as well.

As we have more technology at our fingertips, we gain a greater capacity to learn more about ourselves and our past and how much it relates to ourselves today. And perhaps the greatest surprise of our future will be how much we, with our knowledge of our past, may find continued integration a 21st century aspect in our design. Until we have a time machine, we will have to make do with something more holistic: being patient.