Crochet: Before you go conjuring images of your granny knitting a scarf in the winter sun, you must think about a crochet summer dress that was by none other than Victoria’s Secret itself. Emerging as a wonderful option for summer, crochet was paired with lace and discovered in modern knits and many different locations. From the usual suspects of shirts and dresses, one could easily snag a crochet handbag, bracelet, hair accessory or even shoe embellishments. Now, maybe you’d like to thank granny.
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Minimalism: Just as we were getting ready to pass off the 90s as one of the most fashion non-worthy decades, it came back to prove us wrong. Floor grazing, full length skirts, billowy tops, leather minis, slim suits all made a reappearance to melt the hearts of even the toughest non-believers. Eileen from the popular sitcom of that decade, Seinfeld found herself as the fashion inspiration for girls all over the world, who were wearing skivvies below dresses, turning to Doc Martens for foot fashion and teaming light knits with gauze thin chiffons.
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Eye shields: Imitation is the highest form of flattery and in fashion, the number of cheap knock-offs only tells you about the popularity of the copied item. This year it was the omni-present wayfarers from the 60s, which was ripped so openly that almost everyone who wore glasses owned a pair. In frames of every possible colour, it became so cool that suddenly it was cooler to not wear them anymore. So, the fash-frat quickly moved to the thin-rimmed, square-shaped glasses from the 80s, with thanks to Lady Gaga and Matt Damon in the movie Invictus gained immense popularity this year.
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Turban: While there might be many ways to hide a bad hair day, there might be nothing quite as classy as this one. Though a few seasons old on the runway, it took only 2010 for stylish women to work their charm with exquisite headgear. Straight from the era when pants were cropped, women were strong and movies were black and white, a sudden surge in turbans was seen when Salma Hayek, Jennifer Lopez and Kate Bosworth all did their bit in bringing it back.
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Visible socks: As tricky as this trend was to handle, it was generated purely from the streets of various fashionable towns across the world and then was seen on the ramp as well. Still a big no for men, women were busy pairing up solid coloured mid-length socks with every type of heel possible. Clogs, flats, chunky boots, open toed; no heel was too sacred for these usually shy darlings. Falling anywhere above the ankle and reaching almost mid-thigh, the key was in pairing it well with the rest of the outfit. Go check, fashion blogs if you don’t believe us.
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Military: It’s time again to remember Michael Jackson and Prince and thank them for having discovered military fashion, which was a rage this year. With visible hints in Rajesh Pratap Singh’s collection back home, abroad there was Balenciaga, Balmain, Burberry, DKNY, Michael Kors and Tony Burch. Embellished buttons, power jackets, slim fits in olive, the boot, thin vests, chains on shirts, it was all there in various avatars.
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The braid: As the degrees climbed higher this year, even the most rigid of cascading hair divas were forced to look for a scrunchie. And that saw the return of the bashful braid in its new old-yet-new avatar. From the fish tail braid, which rocked with everything from a pair of shorts to a night out on town slinky number and even at the fashion week, to the retro returned milk-maid braid, which tumbled out of its stereotyped closet on to the red carpet.
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Capes and ponchos: Though it’s only the end of the first month of extreme winter, but it isn’t hard to spot that object of our childhood fantasy. Ponchos keep coming and going every other season, but this year has seen a major revival. Designers like Philip Lim and Vena Cava kept them bold and structured with the use of belts, layering and smart fits.
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The 50s: Never has one television show had as much impact on the runway as the advertising show based in 50s, Mad Men. Be it Christina Hendrick’s sexy secretary figure hugging dresses, the chic mid-length full-skirts, scoop necked, full sleeved uppers and classic bee-hives or cleavage baring bustiers and pencil skirts, no designer, whether Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton or Prada resisted in tipping their fedoras to this trend.
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Velvet: It was a trend we have all been guilty of, be it for the horrific festive memories of the days when it toted around in various pastel shades of mauve, pink and powder blue and gave off a sheen that would pale even the brightest of Diwali crackers or when we posed for conti-party pictures in tent-like salwar suits. So when we say that it was a rage this year, don’t cringe as it isn’t the velvet you remember. Flowy, elegant and rich just as it should be, velvet was seen in various shows from Dolce and Gabbana, Alexander Wang and even Rachel Roy. Back home we had a few spottings too, where even designers, like Payal Jain openly embraced its glamour and showed how good velvet could actually look.