Resort 05 and A First Look at Spring 06

One thing was very clear and that was the total infatuation with black by the large chains such as Zara. We thought they had just decided to not change their assortment because of the riots but when we visited the other cities on our itinerary it was pretty much the same. The only exception were the smaller independent junior stores, such as Extyn, Bloom, Patrizia Pepe, Pinko, ProMod, with their more colorful assortments to go along with their range of black merchandise. Color was a very important issue everywhere we visited other than Paris. Classic Fall colors popped out at the shopper. Colors highlighted were ranges of orange, yellow (very strong at the stores catering to street gear), green, purple, and the entire gamut of blues that hovered around peacock. The success of purple is a good harbinger of the success of lavender and lilac going into Spring. We didn't include two colors in the above group… pink and red. Pink is not a traditional Fall color but nevertheless there was a lot of it in one guise or another. As far as red goes there wasn't much of it even though it traditionally is very easy to spot around the Holidays - not this time.

It is important to also note since we did mention Goth that the season is finally making sense of all those lux textiles that appeared instantly at the beginning of the season and carried forward right into Holiday. Velvets, panés, devoré, brocades, jacquards and lace have been mixed together in the fashion pot au feu. What has been stirred up are some new twists on trends that are fast becoming classic. They are:

1- Victorian/Edwardian with its star color black and other touches that can also be called Dark Romantic
and
2- Goth… Victorian’s younger sister.

Both looks include:

Ruffles High necklines Leg-of-mutton sleeves Capes Bustiers Corset looks (including vest styles)

Velvet ribbons Long black coats Cameos (important) Lace-up boots Jet-black accessories Ruffled bibs

There are no bows for the Goth look but there were plenty everywhere else. There were bows as cummerbunds, bows on shoes, bows on sleeves… well just about everywhere.

Cropped, above the waist tops and jackets were still seen but they are getting longer. They are either at the waist or just skimming it, creating one of the newest silhouettes when teamed with a slim skirt that is now in a very fashionable mid-calf length. This includes waistcoats.

The empire dress remains an important element of the season. The black dress looks like the #1 purchase by shoppers followed by any blue dress with sheer overlays (many examples found). There were many simple shift dresses to be seen and once in awhile a trapeze silhouette.

EYESPY ARCHIVES