Bringing NYFW to your winter wardrobe

As much as we absolutely dread the post-New York Fashion Week-stress-syndrome that consumes us when we’re left to bid adieu to American fashion for the remainder of the season, we must admit that being able to look back, extract our favorite trends, and incorporate them into our fashion vocabulary is our guilty pleasure.

This past week, we were bombarded with enchanting pieces of art, like Rodarte’s Star Wars-printed charmeuse gowns and glittery metallic coats, but more importantly with equally as satisfying functional pieces like Calvin Klein’s sheer knit turtleneck sweaters, from which we take inspiration to guide us through the season.

As I evaluated the latter in order to strategize the future of my winter wardrobe, three particular trends stood out as the very highlights of the week, committing me to an everlasting search for the perfect color-block coat, a true understanding of the layering technique, and the most flattering cropped bell trousers.

1. Color-Block Coats

Let’s be honest.  Winter is that time of year when your level of sartorial creativity decreases a notch, and the number of black coats in your closet increases ten notches.  Sometimes you even try to justify this utter disappointment by claiming that you “quite enjoy the added element of sophistication” you adorn yourself with during the winter, through your extensive collection of black outerwear.  Luckily, after this past week, it is safe to say that the days of feigning an admiration for the “elegance” of black coats are over.  Several collections such as 3.1 Phillip Lim, BCBG, Opening Ceremony and Altuzarra featured incredibly fun color-block coats with geometrically juxtaposed patches of contrasting colors and materials. My personal favorite was Phillip Lim’s color-block shearling coat incorporating lively colors such as lilac and magenta, and a cool black leather patch amidst pastel-colored shearling areas.  Who ever said a coat couldn’t be the quintessential winter statement piece?

2. The Art of Layering

I, for one, am truly relieved to see a turn away from the stark minimalism that has dominated the runways over the last year. This season was all about the power of layering, and its ability to create harmony within a look composed of various, seemingly contradictory, pieces.  Creatures of Comfort took this approach to create a mod-meets-Raggedy-Anne-meets-chic collection composed of unstructured dresses, frumpy paperbag-waist pants and mismatched patterns, which somehow united into ridiculously cool laid-back looks that completely worked, against all odds.  Marc Jacobs, whose show successfully closed New York Fashion Week, took the concept of layering into the more structured realm, pairing pleated skirts and frilly dresses with pants underneath.  Not only did MJ ingeniously strike balance between pants and its more feminine counterpart by emphasizing the textures of the dresses and skirts—which were able to contrast the more texturally muted pants—but he crossed the seasonal boundaries by posing a new way to incorporate skirts and dresses into winter apparel.

If there’s one thing that can instantly add structure and balance to an outfit, it’s a great pair of trousers.  Designers such as Zimmermann, Rachel Comey, and Rosie Assoulin were clearly contemplating the art of creating interesting, yet harmonious, silhouettes through the manipulation of the trouser pant this season.  Rachel Comey struck a perfect balance between structured cuts and visually unstable prints by pairing cropped leopard-print bell trousers with graphic tees decorated in equally offsetting patterns.  My favorite renditions of the cropped bell trouser, however, were those featured in Rosie Assoulin’s collection, which emphasized the power of the silhouette and the effects exaggerated cuts and hems can have on the perception of the shape of the human body.  Assoulin demonstrated this concept through the hyperbolic wide legs and short hems, and almost melodramatic high cinched waists—all working to highlight the curvature of the lower body.  And to make the trousers more relevant, pockets were incorporated to achieve the cool, laid-back, city-girl vibe we all crave.

Until next season, New Yawk.  ‘Ello London!