Final Trend 3# C3PO

From a galaxy far far away, C3PO, R2D2, Princess Leia and Atryu from ‘The Never Ending Story’ will all be paid homage to in…. 2014.

            The C3PO trend focuses on strong metallics throughout outfits with accent colours from the ocean, such as marine blues and mint seaweed green hues. It will have the perfect combination of sharp-shouldered angles, mixed with dreamy fluid pleats in flowing dresses and palazzo pants to give a sci-fi feminism feel. The trend can also be picked up on by using only accessories such as gold chokers, bronzed cuffs and metal waist belts to give just a hint towards it. The fabrics that will be used will be a mixture of stiffened material with not much movement for the sharp angled sections, foiled style tops and lightweight flowing silk to emphasize the contrast. 

            The type of consumer that will fully take up this trend would be a fashion forward individual between the ages of 17 and 39. There is also the option to use accents of this trend like the colour scheme or the accessories which I think would be easily accessible and simple to wear for many more men or women of different ages. This trend is extremely manageable for anyone wanting to wear it.

Left- C3PO from Star Wars

Right- Mattijs show at London Fashion Week

Final Trend 2# Avatar

           We have started to become more aware of the damage we are doing to the environment over time and our knowledge is ever increasing. By 2014 I think the vast majority of us will start to take more notice of where our clothing comes from and how it is made. Designers and brands will start to observe this and take action on their own company, therefore, changing the production of their garments to help the environment.

            With this is mind I think in 2014 eco friendly fabrics will have a trend of their own. Better known companies will replace toxin and waste with organic fibers like hemp and bamboo due to the growing consumer demand for reusable and renewable resources. Fabric companies will be outsourcing materials such as organic cotton and rPet, Poly Ethylene Terephthalate, (a form of organic polyester,) instead of the normal cotton and polyester we are still using now. Consumers will want to buy into clothing that will not harm the environment and will come from biodegradable natural resources due to throwaway fashion becoming so popular. These fabrics come in all shape, textures and forms and have limitless colours since the dying process has been made more economical too.

            To start with the target market will be people over the age of 20 who have been made aware of improved economically friendly fabrics, but the trend will grow, as more worries hit the media about the environment an increasing number of people will want to do their bit to help, and this trend will be it. 

Final Trend 1# Defiance

In 2014 I predict that more people will jump on this promotional bandwagon, the Defiance trend, with more celebrities doing this style of brand endorsement. Therefore, making more brands plaster their clothing with logos and their slogans. Many people will be wearing knitted tops, leggings and hoodies with prints all over them to show exactly who they are wearing, especially once they have seen their idols in them. The fabrics and shapes of the clothing will be of a simple style with traditional cuts and materials such as cotton, polyester or silk, to not take the eyes focus away from the over the top logos and bold brash prints in block colours.

The Defiance will be a trend mainly seen on teenagers and young people up to the age of 25. It is a young trend, for people to show off what, and who they wear to their friends.

 Carlotta Actis Barone

 Rihanna wearing 'Boy'

Subliminal Messages

Subliminal messages- below the threshold of conscious perception/ inadequate to produce conscious awareness but able to evoke a response

 Facebooks homepage subliminal message

Fashion is able to show messages and feeling through them via design or how they are worn. This can be through visuals such as written or logos, or it can use slightly more subliminal tactics. For example you can tell what mood some people are in just by what they are wearing, you might not think you notice this but you can adjust yourself naturally without realising.

 Not so subliminal, but London Fashion Week saw clothing that portrayed messages via bold white words.

Designer Isabel Marant produced a collection for Fall 2011 using the X-Factor logo. Cheryl Cole proceeded to wear the jeans while the drama of her being axed from the UK X-Factor then from the US version was going on.

Subliminal Message from her?

Carlotta Actis Barone A/W12 collection

'Wearing the offence to not forget it'

Based on the Holocaust, has the words 'Arbeit Macht Frei'- work liberties, the slogan that was on the Auschwitz camp gates

With PR companies, designers, activists and many more people trying to promote their product, belief or to gain support, I believe that many will go down this route via clothing and subliminal messaging to either gain public knowledge or just to get pages in a tabloid/ magazine.

Watch what people wear with a keen eye!

Blood Diamond

Joseph Kony is a Ugandan Guerrila Group leader that is head of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), a group that has earned a reputation for its actions against people. They abduct and force thousands of children to fight for them, forcing them to kill their friends and families.

No this is not a new movie out, this is not like Blood Diamond, this is real life.

On Monday 9^th March 2012 a film campaign by Invisible Children went viral, about Kony and his actions, not to celebrate him, but to raise support for his arrest and set a precedent for international justice. Below you can see and watch this video for more details about the campaign.

THE CAMPAIGN

Everyone involved in the campaign or anyone ready to help will meet at sundown on the 20^th April across the world, to create a buzz by sticking posters and stickers up on every corner, (these are specialized Kony 2012 action kit available online). This means when the rest of the world wakes the following day they will all notice these posters, raising further support for the cause.

THE TREND

This support video has trended worldwide, making it popular to support this cause. The Kony 2012 action kit also includes t-shirts, logos and graphics that are already starting to trend throughout the web and in the streets. With this campaign obviously working extremely well, in the future years ahead you will definitely see more campaigns and support graphic t-shirts throughout the world for not just this cause, but for many more which arise in the future.

A photograph taken from the Ubuntu International Project show at London Fashion Week

showing more messages that are portrayed through t shirt prints

Bespoken About

‘Is she wearing the same dress as me???’

Noone wants to be asking this question once they have taken hours to get dressed, days to prepare, and weeks to find the right dress for the event of the season, and soon I believe no one will ever be saying that again.

Nadine Merabi has a small boutique in Manchester, ‘Merabi by Nadine,’ and has made an influence that cannot be ignored. Each dress is bespokely made for you, starting from the initial consultation to the final fitting, showing that you will never need worry about doubling up. She design’s for many celebrities such as Chelsee Healey, Michelle Collins, Catherine Tyldesley and lots more.

With bespoke eveningwear getting more and more popular does this mean that we will have more input into the design of our clothes? Which will then lead to trends filtering out since we, the public, get to decide on the fit and style, rather then solely designers. I think that soon we will be our own designers, choose our own trends and not follow what designers dictate to us about what is ‘fashionable’.

Nadine Merabi AW12

Dresses were white, aubergine, silver and grey, with halter-necks, and open-backs, shaped to cut a streamlined, discreetly seductive silhouette.

Animal elements were delicately incorporated with soft, silver snake print and white feather collars. Rows of crystals added sparkle, whilst hemlines narrowed into fishtail skirts.