Industry | 2009.11.18
Big knickers and blazers set for high street
The long-range fashion forecast is in for next summer. Marks & Spencer and Topshop both presented next year\'s collections to the press yesterday, giving the first clear indication of which trends from the recent catwalk shows will make the all-important leap from designer sketchbooks to commercial success. Brace yourself for cycling shorts, denim biker jackets, big knickers and lace blazers.
Although M&S\'s head of design, Neil Hendy, praised the latest catwalk trends as "very wearable", the average shopper may find some eyebrow raisers in store in 2010. The underwear-as-outerwear theme looks set to dominate high streets everywhere next spring, although each retailer adapts it to suit their clientele: Topshop has bra tops and skin-toned lace, whereas M&S has interpreted the brief more demurely in dresses with peekaboo open panels or corset-shaped boning.
Balenciaga, the directional fashion label helmed by young French designer Nicolas Ghesquière, was name-checked by Hendy and Karen Bonser, his counterpart at Topshop, as the show which today\'s design teams look to first. Topshop has nodded to Balenciaga\'s motorcycle trousers with a daring sheer-panelled legging in black mesh, while M&S has used a graphic, Rubik\'s cube print in this season\'s strong Balenciaga colours on a simple day dress.
Trouser shapes look set to continue in their challenging vein. Posh tracksuit pants – dubbed "the new harem" at Topshop and "the new pyjama pant" at M&S – will be ubiquitous, while Topshop is taking a gamble that its fashion-forward clientele, having become accustomed to wearing leggings, will be prepared to experiment with cycling shorts.
And if cycling shorts are the new leggings, then big knickers are the new hotpants. M&S, the home of sensible underwear, hopes to cash in with a range of control knickers in pale metallic shades or with retro lacing inserts.
In the real world autumn is only now turning toward winter, but spring will hit the shopfloors soon as the fashion seasons move ever further ahead to keep up with demand. At M&S, a limited number of "directional" pieces will be on sale from January and February, while Topshop will present a range of the next season\'s trends immediately after Christmas.
For more information, please visit
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/nov/18/big-knickers-and-blazers
