FASHION TRENDS IN THE MAKING....FROM NEW YORK CITY TO MILAN


The Gold cap made a grand entrance at the Marc Jacobs Spring 2007 show

Although I am still contemplating the Magic Show and its significance to the headwear market, time waits for no one. Last week European designers took to the runways in Milan and showed us that fashion is always one step ahead of us. We never know what the future holds in respect to color, proportion or accessories.

One celebrity can make or break a trend - and one powerful showing on the runway can get the media talking for months.

It does, however, look like the cards are stacked in our favor (if you love hats, sell them or make them). Armani glamorized and feminized the fedora or trilby (as the media called them), Prada has a crush on Turbans and many other top designers turned to hats for inspiration and glamorization.

Ralph Lauren has been showing felt fedoras in many of his ads. It gives the modern woman a mysterious aura (and with the new laws passed by Congress this week that might be a good thing). The message seems to be: walk tall and carry a powerful punch in the boardroom (just don’t wire-tap and get caught).

With that in mind we also want to highlight the fashion front from the New York City Runway shows:

The 60’s icon Biba had a show that heralded Art Nouveau with swirling prints, platform shoes and colorful caftans. There were overalls with gold foil "B" on the front, sky-high metallic platforms and “lots of headscarves and floppy hats.”

Designers showed tailored clothes that mixed the masculine and the feminine (now we are destined for real gender confusion).

At the Marc Jacobs show - at the New York State Armory - Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher were anointed Hollywood royalty. They were followed by a crew of anxious photographers, journalists and bodyguards – making it hard for anyone to resume their normal positions.

The trends were bomber jackets, jersey dresses, lace and pleated gowns, sunset printed T-shirts and metallic leather visor caps from Marc Jacobs.

According to one fashion journalist: “Besides, the real point of the collection could be found in the accessories with most of the first 15 or so outfits — those glorious leather-quilted boxes that dangled from gilt chains in a host of new colors, from gunmetal to coral.”