EARLY last year, someone sent me an e-mail on fashion predictions for the year and I remember reading it and feeling a little sad that skinny jeans were going to go out of style.
Thankfully, the many pieces I purchased with studs, sequins and metal embellishments on them made it through the year, as the prediction of their popularity turned out to be spot on.
The same happened with animal print, although to this day I still can’t bring myself to throw on a cheetah print dress or even a top.
Hundreds of predictions are made every year in the fashion industry, and in the spirit of the new year, we’ve decided to make some too.
We won’t just talk about materials, colours and cuts, but also changes in how fashion is modelled and presented.
Only time will tell if our predictions are accurate, but for now we’d just like to usher in 2011 in style and look forward to what this year’s runways have to offer.
Healthy models
For years Tyra Banks has been championing plus-sized models (in America’s Next Top Model: Cycle 10, size 10 model Whitney Thompson won the top prize) and recently Britain launched Just As Beautiful, a plus-sized fashion magazine.
Many designers and stylists the world over have begun incorporating bigger girls in their shows and photoshoots.
The waif look has ruled our catwalks for too long, and healthy-looking girls are fast becoming models of choice.
We'll be seeing more of the likes of Carre Otis
We’re not saying the runway will be ruled by only girls with girth, but rather that stick-thin, anorexic physiques will soon be a thing of the past.
We’ll be seeing more of the likes of Whitney Thompson, Carre Otis and Emme Aronson in shows and magazines because let’s face it, there are less than 1% of people in the world who are born with your typical supermodel figure.
Length is more
Don’t throw away all your minis just yet, but just so you know, in 2011, hemlines will drop. Already stores are filling up their racks with knee length to midcalf-length pieces, and not just for the more conservative, modern women.
Covering up more doesn’t signal the death of sexy. After all, we’ll still have our slits and skin-hugging material to rely on.
This year, it’s all about balance when it comes to length, but you might as well get used to saying goodbye to skimpy in a few months.
Because less isn’t more, any more.
Eco-fashion/ethical fashion
A few years ago no one gave two hoots about reusing, reducing and recycling, but these days many fashionistas have adopted the idea of saving the earth.
Although not hugely popular just yet, clothes made from organic raw materials, such as cotton grown without pesticides, or re-used materials such as recycled plastic from old bottles, are soon going to be all the rage.
A dress made from recycled materials
Clothes made with the environment in mind don’t involve the use of harmful chemicals and bleaches, and many shoppers will be enquiring into these details.
Vintage pieces too, will be all the more popular as women everywhere dig into their mothers’ closets to find precious hand-me-downs, in an effort to consume less.
Hardly anyone gushes over fur any more, and in 2011 owning something which came about as a result of someone’s (or some animal’s) suffering will be so not cool.
People want to know where something came from, and a sweatshop with child labourers slaving 14 hours a day with minimal wage won’t send anyone into a shopping frenzy.
Individuality
Fast fashion and mass production will not die out, but being your own fashion stylist is totally the new thing to do.
There are tons of blogs and websites where individuals put together their own outfits, some even making their own clothes, to not conform to fashion rules.
Vintage items will be much sought after, handmade jewellery and clothes cut and modified to the individual’s liking will be how everyone rolls this year.
