Yep. That's me on a Brighton rooftop, trying to look calm and collected whilst having internal seizures due to the fact that I'm sitting on an almost-too-thin ledge about 50 feet above the ground.
Anyway, it's meant to suggest the beginning of summer, which means vibrant prints and block colours become standard practice. As summer's answer to Ebenezer Scrooge, I'm not good with colour, and tend to reject it wherever possible. But it can look great, and definitely does show that you're able to welcome the sunny season with arms, that might be slightly burnt, but still remain wide open.
Prints, however, take more care. It's basically impossible to carry off an outfit that includes more than one type of print without looking like a circus attraction. It's better to mix with plain clothes, allowing the print to become the stand-out feature...
...which is why the kimono is so great. They are everywhere right now. In some sort of oriental high-street explosion, the kimono has become the perfect summer cover-up. It's a great way of making a plain outfit a little more suited to the season. An otherwise gloomy black number becomes instantly rejuvenated by the bright colours and floral print.
According to the magazines, the kimono is part of a wider trend that combines western elements with eastern stylistic traditions. Vogue, in Spring/Summer 2013, predicted a "Nouvelle Japonisme" would take hold of the high street in 2014, and this is precisely what has happened. The styles are perfect for the western summer, because they tend to use light fabrics and don't rely too heavily on that classic colour that persistently pervades British fashion in particular - black.
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| Etro |
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| Emilio Pucci |
Obviously, the catwalk styles are always more extreme than the styles found on the hight street, but the concept is still clear. The trend is not entirely innovative - for years, designers have taken inspiration from the far east and used it in conjunction with western ideas, and it is no coincidence that Tokyo and Beijing are two of the biggest fashion hotspots in the world. But the orient has never hit the British high street as hard as it is hitting it right now.
The oriental explosion brings easy ways of dressing for summer with light materials, bright colours and eccentric prints. They can make a colourful outfit even more colourful, or a a relatively gloomy number at least acceptable for June/July. But I'm going to continue to walk proud in my all black, we'll probably only get sun for a week anyway...
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