Nicola Cooper Trend Report

Into the fashion future we go.

I sat down with trend analyst and Lisof lecturer Nicola Cooper to chat about which trends to look out for at the Autumn/Winter 2013 SA Fashion Week.

Colour

I believe there will be a large amount of colour clashing with print. With regards to South African designers there will of course be those designers who will remain loyal to their traditional color palettes such as Suzaan Heyns who uses very dark and monochromatic colors but we will definitely be seeing large pops of colour. Menswear in our country is a strong emerging market and South African men are experimenting, therefore, I am expecting to see a lot of colour, pattern and texture here too, with designers such as Roman Handt who are really defining what is going to be a future trend for 2013/14 termed by WGSN as ‘Hyperculture’.

Fabric

Fabrics we can tartan and tweed as seen in Burberry’s Prorsum A/W 2012/13, to overlaid bold prints seen in Lacoste A/W 2012/13 and one of my favorite patterns of fauna/flora . Various dying techniques such as the contemporary digital print and hand created prints such ombre and tie dying - sometimes a combination of both, will also be a strong statement.
The layering trend will remain with us from last A/W 2011/12. Due to our SA climate we tend to layer a lot, so we will see the continuation of sheer fabrics being layered alongside bold statement prints and textured elements.

Details/finishes/silhouettes

There are various shapes such as the peplum and the continuation of the maxi versus the midi silhouettes. Fashion trends are in a very schizophrenic phase with a pendulum swinging between two extremes. Either very comfortable, organic and loose fitting to very structured and detailed.
Trousers will also play an important role, obviously, as it is Autumn/ Winter, I think the pants for men’s and women’s wear will be very experiential and very exaggerated with contrasting elements.

Themes

We can expect themes of ‘21st Century Romanticism’ for 2013, which I relate to the Victorian and Edwardian era’s. Almost the gothic , dark fairytale which is largely influenced by films such Snow White and the Huntsman.
We could also see themes of ‘HyperCulture’, one of my favorite trends for 2013/14 which is brought on by the notion of wanderlust, the desire to travel and encompass as many cultures into one design, creating a clash of pattern and colour.

Nicola Cooper Bio

This self-confessed, fashion geek is a Senior Theoretical Contextual lecturer at Lisof Pretoria and Rosebank lecturing fashion media, trend forecasting, fashion history as well as fashion theory. She has a Post Graduate Degree in Fine Art and is currently busy with her Fine Art Master’s Degree specializing in the research of identification of subcultures within South Africa. She has extensive knowledge of street wear brands and an ability to inspire and motivate, combined with her intricate mind and unmatched style. This makes her a leader within the fashion realm.

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Words//Lara vd Merwe
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