Ungender Utopia, Feathers, Logo Revivals - Here's a look at 2018's major fashion moments

2018 saw designers and brands across the board celebrating the LGBT rights with great gusto. In fact, India Fashion Week held in Delhi dedicated its grand finale to the rainbow hues, which saw designers reinterpreting pride in their own handwriting. In Mumbai, at the Lakme Fashion Week, Chola presented an un-gender line, which had Prateik Babbar and Jason Arland closing the show. Also, the year saw the rise of survivalism with designers toying with the concept of protective dressing, creating technical fabrics and cocoon-like silhouettes. 

Of course, it will be a grave oversight to overlook the billion-dollar weddings with a new-age bride like Isha Ambani getting her reception lehenga custom-made by Maison Valentino. Talking of bridal wear, it was the year of feathers which emerged to be the new zardozi with the likes of Khosla Jani, Falguni and Shane Peacock, Ridhi Mehra and Namrata Joshipura toying with plumage like never before. 2018 was the year of the peacock with menswear getting bold, non-conformist and edgy. Designer Amit Aggarwal forayed into menswear with a manic mash-up of textures and shine. White, grey, silver and black sporty separates came kissed with AA’s signature surface texturing emitted sci-fi, space-age vibe.

Besides, it was also a year of revival with Alessandro Michele at Gucci reviving their Flora scarf (made for Grace Kelly in 1966) print in separates, Prada bringing back their game-changing nylon in neon hues and ’90s geometric prints and Versace reigniting the chainmail dresses and Baroque prints.   

LOOKING AT SOME OF THE YEAR’S MAJOR FASHION MOMENTS: 

UNGENDER UTOPIA

Tibi’s Spring Summer 2019 showcase underscored many gender-less codes: suiting, shirting and denim. Her slouchy tailoring and pastel palette are likely to appeal to both boys and girls. Monse’s opening model was a guy sporting messy hair and a relaxed-fit V-neck marinière knit accented with strings of pearls. Their oversized pieces with extra-long sleeves work for both men and women. At London Fashion Week, Erdem Moralioglu’s muses were two Victorian men, cross-dressers who were nightlife celebrities and by day lived quietly as sisters. Back home, Chola presented an un-gender line at Lakme Fashion Week.  

THE RISE OF SURIVALISM

From Prada’s nylon rubber boots to the metallic-heating resistant balaclavas seen at Gucci to the quilted coats (with detachable pregnancy pillows and bumbags) seen at Rick Owens — the overall message has been of utilitarian chic and protection. Also, it’s been a season of unique collaborations — from Moncler collaborating with the likes of Valentino, Craig Green and Simone Rocha to Sacai x The North Face. It may not be entirely off the mark to assume that fashion is increasingly becoming survivalist given factors like environmental hazards, socio-political mayhem, refugee crisis and by large — the unpredictability of life. We got designers and stylists to analyse this macro trend.  

FEATHERS — THE NEW ZARDOZI

Spring 2018 couture runways saw a glittery fury of feathered kaftans, plume head-gears and tuft trimmings. Couturier Elie Saab was inspired by the Gatsby glamour and his show gloried thanks to the fluttering quills. On the other hand, Zuhair Murad referenced the Native American motifs extrapolating plumage to fantastical effects. His models sported plume-inspired eye make-up along with feathers accenting models’ hair. Ralph & Russo’s partially-veiled beauties too sported them. Designers Falguni and Shane Peacock have been penning the feather saga for years now, and Pre-Fall 19 collections by Erdem, Preen, Michael Kors, Koche, Givenchy and Valentino, too, see a playful interpretation of plumage.

(Left to right) Balmain amplifies holographic shine, Gucci’s ‘more is more’ narrative continues, Amit Aggarwal menswear runway foray reinterprets codes of space-age dressing, Pierpaolo Piccioli x Moncler celebrate survivalism, Dior Men launches robotic saddle bag

LOGO REVIVAL

The last few seasons have seen international fashion houses looking deep into their own archives, putting the spotlight on their iconic insignias and recontextualising them with an of-the-moment touch. Versace reignited its Renaissance, Animalia and Andy Warhol prints and Anthony Vaccarello at Saint Laurent re-imagined YSL’s ’80s strong shoulders in mini dresses and smoking jackets. Demna Gvasalia at Balenciaga pushed layering to a new level, thereby rekindling visuals of Christobal Balenciaga’s ’50s shapes. 

COLLABORATIONS GALORE 

Burberry collaborated with Vivienne Westwood and Moschino tied hands with H&M to bring in a pocket-friendly premium ready to wear line. Kim Jones jolted the menswear out of its slumber by teaming Dior Men with Hajime Sorayama for Pre-Fall 19 Toyko show. Dior’s limited-edition robo-take on the saddle bag has already become an Insta sensation and it’ll be interesting to see how it’s splashed across editorial. Also, worth mentioning is Valentino’s Pierpaolo Piccioli collaborated with Undercover’s Jun Takahashi and Masayuki Ino of Doublet. 

MAXIMALISM REIGNS

Crystals, beads and paillettes redefine the idea of 3D sparkle. Maximalism was the key runway story thanks to the mega-wattage shimmer induced by fringes, tassels and chainmails. Gucci and Balmain were the key catalysts in introducing pieces with statement-making sparkle on separates. Be it the chainmail dresses seen at Paco Rabanne or the mesh overlays at Christopher Kane — it’s hard to overlook the all-pervading 3D shine.