This report is compiled by Melissa Dick
Military
This winter fashion marched in a new direction towards all things
military. In terms of outerwear this was the big
story of the season and as we mentioned earlier this was not a revival
of army surplus trends but a new take looking to the historical
dress of soldiers and guardsmen, in a stylish military vintage clothing
kind of way.
Although summer’s lightweight naval and admiral jackets
carry through, there were plenty of new ideas for coats
- maxi lengths, double breasted, trenches and belted were all key
military vintage clothing styles. Capes were prominent (and also
cross over into our 60’s themes), Fabrics were wool, canvas,
still some denim and plush 60’s velvets reminiscent of the
Beatles ‘Sergeant Pepper’ look. There was a glut of
brass buttons and plenty of subtle embellishment: like piping and
frogging which exuded imperialistic elegance; then there were the
stripes, medals and brooches of the red army - providing a more
basic inspiration. The look however was mostly minimal and attention
to silhouette had replaced any need for over decoration. This was
military vintage clothing as never seen before.
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At Balenciaga
a sharply tailored, wholly original view on military vintage clothing
marched in. Season after season the signature look at Balenciaga
is heavily influenced by the house’s own vintage couture and
a slight obsession with sci -fi. (In the 60’s Balenciaga redesigned
the uniforms of Air France and these were dug from the archives
as inspiration for the winter collection). In this white coat we
can clearly see both 60’s and sci-fi themes, as well as a
strong nod to uniform detailing in the form of oversized toggles
and epaulettes on the shoulders.
Balenciaga is one of the worlds most influential collections,
always imitated and re created by the high street. The strong 60’s
retro styling of this military coat will doubtless make an obvious
and unashamed appearance in our high street stores.
Although navy blue and red are prominent colours in the military
vintage clothing theme, many collections, like Balenciaga, stuck
to the “idea du jour”, minimal and modern - black and
white.
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At Michael Kors
in New York, military was literal yet slick: easy for his Hampton
set clientele to swallow. In this coat above, brass buttons and
contrast red piping are reminiscent of American civil war soldiers.
But again the look is simple and streamlined and avoids over embellishment.
The wide cinched waist belt in shiny leather is a hugely important
winter accessory for any of our stories. As are the Equestrian style
lace up boots, which look equally good with military coats as they
would with, Victorian skirts or winter shorts.
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At Eley Kishimoto
there were similarities in the military/equestrian approach. This
London based label is street wise, up beat and altogether less commercial
than Michael Kors, therefore the look was more dandy and cavalier,
with plaid pants tucked into boots and playful oversized gold frogging,
typifying the tongue-in-cheek style from this design team.
In addition the collection irreverently mingled historical detail
with heritage checks in this double-breasted trench coat to produce
a military vintage clothing look at it’s best (NB Burberry
first designed the trench coat – then a military outfitters
for soldiers in the trenches during WWI - Hence the name ‘trench
coat’).
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At Allessandro Dell A’aqua
in Milan the military look was typical Italian luxe. Military jackets
came in plush navy velvets crossing over into sixties themes that
evoke the days of Sergeant Pepper. Velvet jackets like this one
will be a big story come Christmas, as the perfect party accompaniment
to folk or Victorian skirts or with skinny jeans tucked into boots.
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For your list of essential garments
to add to your wardrobe to make this military vintage clothing look
work, look at Military in High street.
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