Saccharine and sweet dominate spring 2012
It seemed that the fashion world temporarily put their beloved black uniform in the back closet — at least for S/S 2012. What appears to be a total 360 turn from last season’s rich plums, navy and charcoal is the resurgence of candy-colored pastels. Read: lemon yellow, baby blue, mint green and the palest pink we’ve seen in a while. Refreshing comes to mind, along with soft and flowy, feminine and girly. Perhaps it’s to soften the blow of pressing issues that dominate the times, an escape into a dream-like world where everything is perfect and peaceful. Designers definitely had a field day creating these concoctions. And the fashion world was more than happy to embrace the sweetness, with nothing less than open arms.
Louis Vuitton led the pack, evidenced by the numerous March issue covers that put their gigantic eyelet dresses and skirt suits front and center. Even their campaign on opening spreads of practically every glossy, oozed pastel goodness from the set, down to the props and super pale models. It had a retro yet modern twist that was adorable in a grown-up way. Some took the minimalist route like the usually print-crazy Diane Von Furstenberg, in the form of slouchy separates and sharply tailored suits. Phillip Lim and Christopher Kane veered towards sporty: casual vests, pants and slip dresses made for weekend brunch. Erdem’s garden florals in varying shades of blue mixed with yellow broke the plain palette, providing the contrast that seamlessly blended with the rest of the collections. Valentino’s signature red was replaced by intricately woven lace and silk in old rose and white, as did Vera Wang and Fendi, with their origami-like separates that were akin to serene architecture. Carolina Herrera’s buttery yellow chiffon and silk gown epitomized a garden wedding in springtime, while J. Crew, having done their first ever show for New York Fashion Week, showcased finely striped sequin skirts, shantung cigarette pants and crepe dresses.
