Spring Forecast 2008

Spring Forecast 2008
Introduction
I decided it would be fun to look at the Spring 2008 collections and write a report for us all to use on what is “in” this coming spring. Please note that this is not a forecast as to what exciting new designs might be coming your way from TCC, although if you see something in this forecast that you would like us to draft, please let us know!

In researching spring trends for 2008, I looked at the following designers’ Spring 2008 collections: Badgley Mischka, Carolina Herrera, Chanel, Anne Klein, Proenza Schouler, Michael Kors, Christian Dior, BCBG Max Azria, Behnaz Sarafpour, Bottega Veneta, Burberry Prorsum, Chaiken, Elie Tahari, Marchesa and Tracy Reese. Tops, skirts, dresses, pants, jackets, coats and shorts were examined for lengths, silhouettes, styling and details. The results of this research are below.

General
Spring 2008 is the season for dresses and skirts that hit at knee length. Gone, for the most part, are both mini-skirts and calf-length skirts. Gone, too, are skirts and pants whose waistlines begin below the waist. (This will confuse an entire generation of teens and 20-somethings who think their waists rest at their hip joint.)

Designers are emphasizing waists almost universally in a variety of ways; belts, bows and fitted insets at the waist are some of the most common. Most styles are sleek through the torso, waist and hip, with added fullness coming into play below hip level.

Although some hip-length jackets are seen, most are high hip length or shorter. Coats appear to hit at knee length or slightly below, and are most popular in trench styling.

What pants were shown tended to be either classic trousers or slender, skinny pants. High waists were shown equally with regular waists. Some shorts were in evidence, and were usually mid-thigh in length.

Dresses
Designers loved dresses in their Spring 2008 collections. Popular in these collections were dresses that hit at a demure knee length with fitted waists. Although raglan and sleeveless dresses were in evidence, the most fashion-forward looks had cap sleeves, short sleeves and puff sleeves.

This little dress by Marchesa shows a puff sleeve and a waistline defined by diagonal sections tied at center front, which echoes the emphasis on sleeves and waist shown by most of the designers this season.

Dresses had a variety of silhouettes, including A-line, empire, wrap, coatdress, blouson and floaty layers. The common denominator seemed to be something at the waist, or slightly above the waist, that drew attention to that area. Blouson styles were almost always belted, for instance. Empire seams were often made part of a high waist band or insert. Other designers used curved and diagonal section seams to emphasize the waist.

This cap-sleeved dress by Chanel demonstrates curved section seams to define the waist area. And the raglan-sleeve dress by Proenza Schouler (below) shows an emphasis on sleeves in addition to cinching in the waist with a belt.

Dresses also had interesting details that tended to the feminine, even frilly, or in the other direction, with safari or military detailing. Feminine details included waist bows, lace overlays, ruffles, flounces (especially at the hem), pleated fabrics, ruching and knots at the bust line. Safari/military detailing included epaulettes, flaps and patch pockets.

Here is a Burberry Prorsum dress with a feminine ruching detail. Notice that it, too, is belted.

Pants and shorts
Some designers did not even use pants, much less shorts, in their Spring 2008 collections. Those that did use pants kept them simple. They were almost all full length and either a slender, skinny silhouette or a classic, flowy trouser. Some were given some extra interest with high waists, but for the most part they were used as a backdrop for tops and tunics.

Below is a high-waisted pant by Tracy Reese. It has a double row of buttons, nautical in flavor, as a detail but it is still a good backdrop for the more extravagant blouse with which it is paired.
Note, though, how fitted the pants are through the waist and hip.

Shorts were typically mid-thigh in length, although some went to the knee. There were no unusual details evident in the shorts shown by these designers.

Skirts
Skirts, like dresses, typically came to somewhere above, at or just below the knee. Waists were at the natural waist or higher. The primary silhouettes included the straight, pencil, A-line and a flowy, layered look. When the look was flowy or layered, the skirt was almost always cinched in at the waist with some kind of belt.

One interesting skirt silhouette was the “hobble,” a bubble skirt gathered and sewn into a hem band at the knee.

This version of a hobble skirt by BCBG Max Azria is done with floaty material and is cinched in at the waist with a leather strip wrapped multiple times at the waist and tied.

Skirt details and accents, besides belting, included flounces and bands at the hem, ruching and pleating.

Tops
Tops this coming season were varied with a wide variety of looks and details. Sleeves came in almost every length possible. A very popular look for sleeves involved fullness to the elbow, along with more traditional puff sleeves. Also emphasized were extended shoulder lines and “built up” shoulders.

This Chanel blouse had the type of sleeve detail that was typically almost extravagently feminine.

Many tops were more of a hip-length tunic style, although some were also at or above the waist, too. The longer lengths were almost always belted at the waist. Necklines were given unusual styling and decorative details. Funnel or raised necklines were popular, as well.

Details on tops included ruching, gathers at cuffs, bows, cargo pockets, knots at the bust line and beaded, embroidered accents at the neckline. The Carolina Herrera dress below, although technically not a top, does show an example of a very common neckline treatment seen in many designers’ tops.

Often this circular neck “band” would be embellished with beads and other treatments. When embellishments were used, though, the designers usually kept details to a minimum on other pieces of the outfit, so as not to distract from the embellished focal point.

Jackets and Coats
Jackets and coats seemed to either trend towards the military/safari look or a more feminine look. Looking at the feminine trend first,

this jacket by Burberry Prorsum is belted, and very softly structured with layers of ruffles cascading from a waist peplum. The ruched skirt it is paired with emphasized the femininity of the overall look.

In between the ultra-feminine look above and the “masculine” military look, is the Chanel jacket below.

Chanel has mixed style elements of both the military/safari look and the feminine. This jacket has epaulettes and flaps common to the trench coat. But the jacket also has a frilly bow and a fitted, nipped in waist, ending at the high hip. The sleeves are not full length, exposing the wrist and lower arm, also a feminine style element.

At the military end of the spectrum, look at this design by Proenza Schouler.

This “jacket” is really a double-layered vest with sharp, diagonal lines that contrast with the soft curves of the bubble-mini skirt below. The outer vest has a lapel, and the inner vest has a v-neck that echoes the cut away treatment at center front below the belted waist.

In general, jackets were high-hip length or waist length. If above waist in length, they were typically boxy in shape. Details included waist bows, belts, ruffles at the hem, peplums, rolled cuffs and high-waist inserts.

Coats were not shown very often, but when they were, designers preferred a safari/trench style of coat. Sleeves were usually full length, sometimes with extra height or “build up” at the shoulder. The coats themselves typically came to the knee, or at least slightly below skirt or dress length.

This amazing coat by Christian Dior shows safari/trench styling and a built-up sleeve/shoulder combination.

Some details
In this section I would like to include some photos of details that I thought you would find interesting and inspiring.

This neckline by Carolina Herrera is not unusual in its shape, but has amazing embellishment. Herrera produced the neckline treatment below, as well, also in a floral motif.

(I’m still trying to figure this one out with its folds and layers.)

The outfit below, by Bottega Veneta, has an example of an extremely built-up shoulder line.

Veneta also produced the amazing rolled neckline below.

Burberry Prorsum, who went almost a little wild with ruching and pleating, produced these interesting details.

Prorsum also created the trench coat below, with double flaps.

And, last but not least, Badgley Mischka designed the evening gown below with some beautiful lines that emphasized the waist in a very graceful manner.

Summary
I have tried to describe and picture the major trends of Spring 2008. This was done with the intent to inspire and stir the creative juices. It is a little hard, sometimes, to imagine spring when it is getting ready to snow outside and you are still knocking ice off of water buckets, but spring will soon be upon us.

I hope that you will find something you like in this report -- a detail, a trend or a “feel” that you can incorporate in your wardrobe. Just because a designer shows a bubble-mini skirt, though, doesn’t mean we must feel we need to wear it to be fashionable. Our style must be our own, and should flatter us. I, for one, no longer look good in mini anything, but I do think the knee length skirt is a good look on me. Others may only be comfortable in trousers. It doesn’t really matter, as long as we can have a little fun looking at what is current and cherry-picking our best looks.

So, enjoy the pictures and I hope to see posts of wonderful creations as spring comes nearer!

Lani George