fall 2011 rtw : interesting parallels

While browsing through some of the newer fall shows today, I happened upon 3 shows with striking overlaps (and oddly, they were the first 3 I looked at for the night). It was too unusual to pass up writing about, and it will be interesting to see where this shows up in our wardrobes in terms of trending.

Trend one : the sheer underskirt

Givenchy; Commuun

I love this trend. It's unusual - we've seen sheer before, from the past few seasons, and we've seen sheer layers under opaque layers, so this is a fresh new spin on it. These two shows do it very differently; Givenchy switches up volume with a tighter sheer skirt under a printed, full skirt, while Commuun lets the shapes melt together. The result plays with sex appeal in a new way - the opaque layer is very short, but the silhouette is long.

Trend two : the animal graphic

Emanuel Ungaro; Givenchy

In third or fourth grade, I had this cool t-shirt with glow-in-the-dark bats on it, and I also had a t-shirt with a bunch of wolves covering the front. High fashion at an early age? My classmates may not have thought so, but I was just too ahead of their time for them to understand. But really, another interesting similarity, this time with a nod to the 90s. And again, both done very differently. Ungaro keeps the graphic very bold, almost kitschy, while Givenchy abstracts the image (when I first saw this skirt, I had to stare at it for a few moments before laughing when I realized what they were - panthers).

Trend three - horizontal cut-out striping

Givenchy; Commuun

I am completely taken with both of these dresses. An interesting look to see in two different shows, sheer striping along side opaque striping. The stripe widths vary, and the layering in the Commuun dress creates a fantastic and unique silhouette. Givenchy has decided to keep the shape simple, playing with volume around the body and complete transparency for visual interest.

Anyone else find these overlaps fascinating? Three such different designers, all creating a triangle of three very different trends. Fashion always keeps you on your toes!