Purples & Prints for Fall 2008
Women's Fall Fashion Trends from the Color Purple to Mixed Prints
2008 sees the emergence of this year's "it" color, royal purple. Fall fashion previews gave us a glipse of what was to come with hues of purple, grape, plum and eggplant.
Two of the keynote trends in women's fashion which emerged from this February's designer runways of New York were a cacophony of mixed patterns and prints. The color purple also reigned supreme.
Mixed Pattern Trend for Fall 2008
In the past, any woman seen sporting a mix of florals, plaids, animal prints and stripes would be immediately hailed as a fashion victim. Not so for Fall 2008 it seems, according to Elle magazine’s online Style Report, "Mixing Patterns Trend fall 2008 – Pattern Recognition."
It is almost as if there is a designer war as to how many patterns and prints can be mixed and clashed together. Elle describes it as a “cacophonous symphony of patterns.”
If you don’t want to be thrown out of a restaurant for frightening the diners, then would-be fashionistas need careful calculation when following this mixed pattern trend. Otherwise you will end up giving the impression that you have simply got dressed in the dark!
According to Elle, when done right, such mixing of patterns “can have brilliant effects,” as in a luxurious layered cheetah jacket over a chevron striped sweater from Peter Som and a classy floral top and leopard print skirt from Tracy Reese, from the 1-8 February 2008 New York Fashion Week Fall Preview. Designer Thakoon's primary-colored plaid blouse and muted granny-type floral skirt may not be for everyone but designer Alexandre Herchcovitch took the use of olive-toned plaid to a new level, combining a multicolored skirt with bright horizontal stripes, with powerful results.
The Color Purple Trend for Fall 2008
Call it Purple Reign or Regal Purple, but ever conceivable shade of this royal color is with us this fall, from rich hues of grape, plum, aubergine and eggplant to brighter violets, amethysts and pinkish mauves.
In Pantone's Fall Fashion Color Report 2008, Blue Iris, a mixture of purples and blues emerged as Pantone's color of the year. Similal hues include Royal Lilac, a combination of bluish purple and red undertones.
The runways of New York’s Fashion Week were given the royal treatment with DKNY flapper fringes, silks, tafettas, rich velvets and sexy body-clinging silhouettes from women’s fashion designers Hervé Leger, Costello Tagliapetra, Diana Von Furstenberg and Oscar De La Renta. Paired with simple black tights and classic black shoes, these outfits are sure to be a big hit for fall as they are chic, feminine, rich and regal. In the ancient Asian art of Feng Shui, the color purple is very powerful and has great significance for physical and mental healing.
Celebrities are already loving this regal hue, wearing purples from head to toe, from purple sunglasses and hats to day dresses and gowns, to eggplant or plum shoes and boots. Pictures of fashionistas Isla Fisher, Scarlett Johansson and Lily Cole in Marie Claire's January 2008 Australian Edition (in an article entitled "Purple Reign") demonstrate that the trend has already taken hold for 2008 as this year's new “it” color.
