The artists’ mind is a fascinating one to have. It merges the capacity to create and express with hyperawareness of one’s surroundings. Drinking in details, the artists is constantly seeking and taking in stimuli that feed the insatiable need to create. Designers share this capacity, especially those who have risen in ranks to have control over their platform for expression. Here, they have the added mandate to constantly rejuvenate their expression to reflect the current pulse with great regularity in the name of relevance. This and, of course, to maintain profit; you can’t have a designer’s platform without the money to maintain it.

Not all influences are cultural inspirations. Sometimes it is the more seemingly mundane elements that can catch a designer’s attention. For example, during the 90s in New York there was a sudden fascination with the weather channel and its at-the-time high tech way of present ting real-time and advance weather coverage. And somewhere in the mid-90s there as good reason to talk about the weather: a weather anomaly in the form of a tornado over New York City. This came around the same time that dialogue was taking place concerning climate change that was beginning to be noticeable. Some collections, such as those by Versace, were duly inspired by our fascination with the weather; the tornado effect adapted to ballgowns with twisted waists for one (a reboot from a 1982 design aspect made apropos considering current subject matter). Some collections were also weather adaptable such as Helmut Lang’s more rain-ready summer collection a few summers later when weather got wetter. The weather was increasingly wilder, or maybe it’s just that we had more coverage available to pay attention to its changing volatility. 

The weather is a magnificent topic now, and has been more so over the last year as powerful storms have dominated the airwaves and netscape. The 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report showed increased frequency of intense rain events happening over the last 50 years, while The National Center for Atmospheric Research found the percentage of Earth’s surface suffering drought has more than doubled since the 1970s. What are termed “Black Swan” events such as the hurricane that hit New York and New Jersey last year are also on the increase. Organizations such as The GLOBE Group are factoring reactions to climate shifts into their strategy for sustainability, a hot topic into their upcoming conference. No matter what the cause, it’s happening and the patterns aren’t predictable.  Sometimes the weather is balmy only to be frigid and arctic the following week. The collections have and are more so reflecting this haphazard pattern, trying to adapt. After all, how can a designer not notice this and not be inspired to some degree?

So no more do we have traditions with a predictable weather pattern to match, and this schizophrenic mixing of elements in collections merely reflect that. Florals in winter? Why not? It has been happening in real life during the warm spells, such as when Alaska was warmer than Texas this year. Pastels and whites normally territory of spring and summer are here to stay as well , as seen in collections by Alexandre Herchcovitch, Badgley Mischka, Creatures of the Wind, Organic by John Patrick, Philosophy, Ralph Lauren, Rosie Assoulin, Threeasfour and Victoria Beckham. Short skirts and high hems, the inspiration in part due to the interest in 60s and, to a bit of a degree the Valley Girl 80s, are aplenty in every collection so far. Shorts, gauchos and capris that would normally be out of place in a winter wardrobe are peppered though many collections as well, such as in those by Alexander Wang, 3.1 Phillip Lim, CG, Charlotte Ronson, Coach, Duckie Brown, Escada, Joie, Kaelen, Nicholas K, Public School, Tocca, TSE and Veronica Beard. Some collections reference the elements, such as the clouds from Diane von Furstenberg, Marc Jacobs and Zimmerman or the cotton batting and 3D aesthetic intermixed in the brilliantly executed collection from Threeasfour. Here, they conveyed their awareness of the environment beyond weather as they primarily covered observations in terrains and, in particular, topography.

We’re talking about what’s around us, and when it becomes a major component of our daily lives you can be sure it takes precedence in our minds. Designers are connecting with us, letting us know that they too are fully aware of what is around them. It’s noticed in what we all see and read. It’s in their sales patterns, such as not having enough light layers when winters resemble resort season.

Will the heavier knits and cocoon coats be perfectly timed, or will it be thin summer wools and light layers that becomes the most-used items in our closet? Either way, the smart designers are making sure that have their bases, and our interests, covered. And what doesn’t sell immediately may not matter, as whatever isn’t weather -appropriate could be held until the next season in case an anomaly happens there. Anything’s possible now.