Clashing florals, mismatched stripes and a cacophony of animal prints; the fashion pack have well and truly embraced all manner of offensively wonderful print combinations this season.
While the SS11 collections late last year introduced the look and the AW11/12 collections continued the style, the current resort collections are really launching the trend into the stratosphere. Both the young and fresh and the more traditional design houses have incorporated the look into their collections, with the most vibrant combinations coming from Stella McCartney, Suno and Jen Kao.
Even the often conservative Diane von Furstenburg tried to get down with the trend – the New York Times described her nu-rave collection as having ‘more tech appeal than sex appeal’. While we still aren’t sure if that’s a compliment or not, her commitment to the clash should be applauded.
So with a cocktail of prints set to stick around well into next year, we wanted to see if the general public is buying into it. The chart below shows the buzz and sentiments surrounding the trend.
There is a very obvious peak in buzz in September when the SS11 collections were shown and then again in late February for the AW11/12 shows. Since the SS11 collections hit stores toward the end of April, the trend looks to be on a steady rise both in buzz and in positive opinion.
In the recent Sydney Fashion Week SS11/12 collections, we saw yet another collision of prints. Animal and florals were favoured and provided an interesting take on the trend. Aussie labels Sara Philips, Poppy Lissiman and Little Joe Women were the frontrunners for us in the style stakes.
So clashing prints are set to stay, and we kinda like it that way. It’s not like the SS11 trends stuck by the rules in any other way. Blue and green should never be seen… colour blocking anyone? And fruity prints, once considered the domain of toddlers and teens were rocked by everyone from Elton John to Ms Wintour herself.
That’s the problem with fashion rules, we tend to break them.
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Katie Smith
