This awards season came and went in the blink of an eye. The highly anticipated 91st Academy Awards sent some new (and old) trends our way including Pantsuits, Metallics, and Pastels.

Trend #1: PANTSUITS

Dresses definitely aren’t going anywhere anytime soon, but they might need to scootch over a bit to make room for pantsuits.

Not the Hilary Clinton presidential pantsuit, no worries, we’re talking glammed out pantsuits. These actresses showed up in style, rocking the far more comfortable and ‘daring’ look.

Just look at Awkwafina, one of the stars of the hit film “Crazy, Rich Asians”. The stage was graced with her presence when she presented for the “Best Short Film” category, strutting in style in her pastel purple metallic pantsuit designed by Dsquared2. This woman fit almost all of the Oscar trends into one ensemble!

Trend #2: METALLICS

No doubt, Metallic is one way to grab the camera’s attention. Who can miss you when your outfit is blinding the photographers? You would think that since this was a huge trend at the 2019 Oscars we’d get bored after seeing it a few times. Wrong. Every Actor and Actress that strutted the Red Carpet had an amazing twist or flare to the ensemble that made them stand out.

Emma Stone nominated for Best Supporting Actress, displayed a beautiful copper/ burnt orange Louis Vuitton piece with shoulder pads that made her look like a metallic angel about to take flight.

JLo stunned us with a high neck gown with reflective jewel pieces. She showed reserved but ready to serve looks. Think that metallic and sparkles are only for girls? Think again.

Chadwick Boseman shocked us with his gender neutral piece. What appears to be a floor-length black dress paired with a fitted metallic black blazer, the King of Wakanda definitely dropped a few jaws.

But who is wearing the cape this season? It’s not Boseman, but rather Best Actress nominee Glenn Close. While she didn’t take home the Oscar, she definitely was one of the more eye-catching actors in her gold caped Carolina Herrera gown.

Trend #3: PASTELS

And last but not least we have the Pastels! Turns out we didn’t leave this trend in the early 2000s, because our hottest stars are wearing them yet again.

Jason Momoa, one of Hollywood’s biggest badasses showed up in a pastel pink velvet suit with a matching hair tie for his luscious mane while Kasey Musgraves showed up looking like a dolled up ballerina.

Yalitza Aparicio, nominee for Best Actress in her film Rome, stunned the Red Carpet in her beautiful seafoam green Forevermark Diamonds jewelry dress. Not bad for her first time on the Red Carpet!

Mother of Dragons, Emilia Clarke looked like a true Khaleesi in her custom made Balmain piece. With her, the Red Carpet was truly on fire!

Photo Credits: All photographs taken from Vogue.com

Header: Photograph credits – Cosmopolitan

Carolina Herrera gave off a very different aesthetic than de la Renta. With very boxy monochromatic tops paired with a patterned bottom or vice-versa, the vibe was more retro and modern.

Similar to de La Renta, we see the use of burnt orange in several of the pieces throughout the collection. Besides that, we also see several more bright eccentric colors such as fuchsias, yellows, and sky blue which seemed like a very 80’s vibe.

With a very modern line in front of us, it was interesting to see the contrast between the clothing and the runway. The runway was a very pale blue, however, what was more interesting was the rustic paintings littering the wall and the blackened beat up mirror at the entrance to the runway.

This did, however, bring the center of attention to the individual pieces of the collection. The neon colors and large modern patterns stood out against the aged runway, which could be one of the main purposes of this runway structures.

One thing that could have been changed about this show, was the final few pieces, their order in particular. They fit in much better with the clothing that was shown during the beginning, in terms of it being more business casual and monochromatic.

Overall, Carolina Herrera didn’t blow it out of the park the way that de la Renta did. It was a more tamed, and one-dimensional show, but the collection was nonetheless beautiful.

 

 

A designer that never seems to disappoint, Oscar De La Renta, blew New York Fashion Week away with his Fall /Winter 19-20 collection.

First things first; the runway. With its vibrant green potted plants decorating the stage and the rustic columns and split stage, he set the bar high and did not disappoint. It resembled a walk through a pristine springtime park.

First, to grace, the stage was the very monochromatic heavy winter outfits. With his use of simple fall colors such as black, burnt orange, burgundy, brown, and grey, de la Renta showcased a simple business casual look to kick off his show.

He continued to use these colors into his evening wear. Loose, lighter and in some cases, almost sheer fabric was showcased next. With a very ethereal feel in some of the gowns, he moves into tassels and block patterns.

The dresses and outfits that followed have the look of a quilt with square blocks decorated with floral patterns on the inside of them. With the mix of tassels dangling from the bottom of the outfits, the outfits were vibrant and really came to life.

Ending the show with wine reds, blacks, and gold glittered accents, tied the show into the later winter season. And of course, he ended with a bang, showcasing Bella Hadid in a gorgeous floor length black ballgown with a quatrefoil pattern embroidered on it. A trendsetter when it comes to fashion, Oscar de la Renta blew it out of the water.

photos: Photo by Alessandro Lucioni taken from Vogue Runway

Many people tend to see fashion, and trends as an interest of vanity. Who cares what people are wearing and how many people follow a trend? You may not know it, but fashion dictates everything. The way you present your self is the way you come off to the world. Every day, the clothes you put on your back can very well determine how your day is going to go. And those clothes that you put on, whether it be sweatpants or a gown, started from somewhere. I believe the best way to put it is in the words of the iconic Miranda Priestly from The Devil Wears Prada. 

     “This stuff’? Oh, ok. I see, you think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select out, oh I don’t know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you’re trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back.

     But what you don’t know is that that sweater is not just blue, it’s not turquoise, it’s not lapis, it’s actually cerulean. You’re also blindly unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar de la Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves St Laurent, wasn’t it, who showed cerulean military jackets? And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of eight different designers.

     Then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic “casual corner” where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin.

     However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and so it’s sort of comical how you think that you’ve made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you’re wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room. From a pile of “stuff.”

     The recycling of trends whether it be, an article of clothing, a color, a fabric or an accessory is something that we don’t even realize happens every day in the world around us. These trends start from the top and trickle down to the “bottom” where most of our wallets live. I look forward to delving into these trends during the upcoming fashion season and see how they make their way to the public.

– Marina Di Costanzo