“Sexy is back” was last month’s Paris Fashion Week SS22 main take away, including micro tops by Miu Miu, sensual draping by Loewe to reimagining the Christian Dior short skirt and blazer with a touch of preppy and punky look.

Related story: Luxury fall coats are long, elegant and cozy

The big question within the fashion industry is will women lose the stay at home causal sweat pants and sneakers for a more party girl vibe next year?

Returning to VFW SS22 are local favourites including Alex S. Yu to new designer talent Psy Lau offering up Hong Kong street style to Crystal Dress from Korea.

Stay tune for more Vancouver Fashion Week SS22 coverage as we explore the luxury fashion trends for the post-virus comeback season.

Above Photo: Claire Elizabeth at Vancouver Fashion Week SS20 Gala. | Simon Lau

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I’m not suggesting that luxury runway shows will cease entirely. Fashion shows are still critical for brands to showcase their fashion storytelling live to customers and media. The digital world will never replace live performances, may it be fashion, theatre or sports.

Nonetheless, the COVID-19 pandemic effectively cancelled the haute fashion calendar this spring. Production halted, fashion shows were aborted and boutiques were closed. This pause reportedly resulted in a letter, instigated by Dries Van Noten, calling on the industry to tear up the traditional fashion week calendar to promote a more sustainable schedule in order to protect creativity and ensure profitability.

Above photo: Evaro Italia at Vancouver Fashion Week Spring Summer 2020. | Photo: Simon Lau

Gucci’s creative director Alessandro Michele recently announced that the storied house will cut its number of annual fashion shows from five – cruise, spring – summer, capsule, pre-fall, fall-winter – to two. Michele’s goal is to reduce waste by offering seasonless clothing as he believes the garments he produces for Gucci should have a longer life than just a few months.

The designers calling for a more sustainable fashion paradigm are at the forefront of a movement. You can expect future fashion shows to combine men’s and women’s collections and to include items for both warm and cold climates with layer pieces for seasons in between. In short, fewer shows and less product.

Recently, designer capsule collections have all been “show now, buy now” and that too will be part of the new formula going forward.

The tradition of showcasing designer collections six months before each corresponding season has allowed fast fashion to steal profits – and designs – from designers which resulted in mass discounting, devaluing their brands. With “show now, buy now”, fast fashion retailers, such as Zara, can still replicate designer clothes in three weeks but the six-month sales advantage that they had in the past will be eliminated. 

While it seems European luxury fashion brands are committed to change, it remains to be seen if consumers will choose to pay higher designer prices rather than the cheaper fast fashion options. However, as I have detailed in the past, consumers too are looking to more sustainable options for their wardrobes.

COVID-19 has allowed European luxury designers to rethink fashion week shows making a change for sustainability. But, if we want to make a real difference over the long term, consumers will need to embrace quality over quantity. 

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However, while some may grumble, others celebrate American luxe sportswear’s turn towards minimalism. While Paris Fashion Week is about sophistication and Milan Fashion Week is about stylishness, New York Fashion Week is defined by subtlety and restraint. 

Luxury fashion brands will always emphasize quality and exclusivity, but labels are now taking a backseat as a more sophisticated clientele – one that knows personal style is more important than any logo – takes centre stage. American fashion designers are now focused on individuality, allowing their customer to be the star.

Ralph Lauren’s A/W 2019 collection is a perfect example of New York’s understated luxury. In particular, an all-black ensemble with a sleek metallic gold coat is pure opulence for any woman at any age.

In his couture-like collection, Marc Jacobs presented a leopard print cape, worn over a muted printed blouse in and simple brown striped trousers, which would make any woman look and feel like a movie star fleeing the paparazzi.  

Deveaux gave us modern luxury for real life with sharp but not restrictive tailoring, including comfortable and absolutely effortless jackets for New Yorkers.

Designers at New York fashion week brought a ‘less is more’ attitude to the season, shifting their focus from gaudy decorative details to understated shapes and subdued palettes. 

Gone are the complicated and messy layered looks, athleisure wear and exorbitantly priced sneakers of past seasons. This season we are seeing more timeless looks, quality tailoring and monochrome palettes and fewer busy prints and fussy patterns.

Viewing these collections brings me back to a time during my youth when my parents referred to our neighbours, who were never flashy and never talked about their wealth, as ‘old money’.

The clientele that NYFW designers are catering to with their A/W collections is the old money crowd and those that choose to emulate them. To put it more simply, these are clothes for those that understand that while money talks, wealth whispers.

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