Get into the swing of a sexy summer with the season’s hottest and brightest. From a gamut of colours to head-turning graphics, wear this season’s fashion with plenty of skin for a heavy dose of sensuality. This is where the real fun begins.
This season, fashion has gone super rich and bold with a voracious appetite for prints, patterns and colours. If there’s a key takeaway from this season’s runways, it’s that “extreme” is now a celebrated word in fashion’s venacular. “I believe that when people go shopping, they can put on the right thing to change their spirit,” said Michael Kors. “I’m optimistic and I approach fashion that way, you know?
People are in a better mood when they get to spend time outside.” So it’s no wonder designers from Kors to Alessandro Michele have delivered collections brimming with extra sparkle, and with the promise of exotic travel. Michele conjured an arresting Gucci montage of vintage-y clothes for today’s tribe of romantic magpies. There’s something to suit every sartorial palate and mood. Now that the runways are overflowing with suggestions, all that’s left for you to do is perfect your own formula.
MATERIAL ASSETS
Today’s women are savvy globetrotters whose jet-setting lifestyles take them to different corners of the planet. Cue “seasonless dressing,” a movement championed by Burberry’s Christopher Bailey. This means equipping yourself with versatile clothes that’ll work in various climates.Invest in perennial transitional pieces crafted from traditionally wintry fabrics such as tweed, leather and mohair, made more lightweight through technological advancements in textile manipulation. When the days get warmer, nothing beats the sensual feel of silk on naked skin. Ralph Lauren cut a sublime silk shirt at his namesake line, while Miuccia Prada utilised layers of tulle and chiffon for a frothy take on gothic Lolitas at Miu Miu.
PAINT BUCKET
Nothing beats experimenting with colours, especially at the height of spring/summer, and designers certainly went to town with boxes of Crayola in their hands this season. At Prada and Salvatore Ferragamo, stripes that stretched across boxy jackets or floor-length dresses looked like they came straight off retro cushion upholstery or curtains, imbuing them with a delicious ’70s tint. Moschino’s Jeremy Scott made it easy for women to be the centre of attention: His fun outfits were drenched in bursts of trafficstopping colours inspired by—what else?—traffic cones and the car wash. Beneath all that zaniness are clothes that are great separates. A neon orange pussy-bow blouse becomes less intimidating when worn with washed denims or white flare pants.
THE GLITTERATI SQUAD
Even if sobriety’s your thing, you could do worse than indulge in a moment of whimsy. Embellishments— even in small doses—can work wonders for your spirit. A Dolce&Gabbana three-piece suit, already a vision of perfection thanks to its razor-sharp tailoring, is given extra polish in the form of floral embroidery. Trust us, it’ll do the talking for you in the boardroom and at parties. And then there’s Marc Jacobs, who one-upped his renowned showmanship skills by not only moving his entire spring/summer runway show inside a theatre, but also conjuring a collection full of Oscar-worthy drama. Dial it up with a sweeping coat in a Warhol-esque print, finished off with touches of sequins and embellishments like fine icing on the cake.
CLASH COURSE
Towering studded sandals that border on the dangerously seductive; ankle booties that are a nod to the future; boyish tweed baseball caps; gossamer-light netting layered over blouses; and out-of-this-world bangles that echo Saturn’s circular disc… the standout accessories of the season are audacious and sassy.
For beginners, they’ll give any pared-down outfit a strong focal point. But why play safe when you can crank up the volume? Prove your mastery by clashing and contrasting your accessories with gusto.
You’ll reap your rewards instantly.
BARE IN MIND
If you have it, flaunt it. And designers made sure you got the memo with frilly blouses that exposed the shoulders, and all sorts of strategically placed cut-outs on luxurious dresses that highlighted the body’s erogenous zones. If subtlety is your cause, then a sensual jumpsuit fashioned from a web of embroidered circles will give scintillating hints of the treasures that lie beneath.
