#Trending! — Violinkit

May 30

May 30 #Trending!

Grey sash windows, double glazed of course!.... Men in navy suits and brown "Brogue style" lace up shoes... Lining up to get wed with ten best men in tow........Grey kitchens and lighter grey walls and don't forget those front doors.....

Confused.............Well think about it , are we all basically sheep?.....A trend is born and we are quick to follow in succession and claim it for our own. In our cocooned state we are under the illusion that we are being innovative, cool and discerning in our choices but we fail to realise that these choices were already made for us by a higher source..........Where did these choices originate from....Who started the wedding trend of wearing the "Compulsory" navy suit and brown shoe look that you simply "daren't wear anything else" if you are a guy , getting married and under thirty five...

See where I'm coming from... What about those grey framed double glazed super nova styles windows.......Not to mention the never ending saga of Forty Shades of............. (and we ain't talking porn here....!!!! Ha Ha!).. oozing from the homes (in every orifice) of every trend setting , bad ass home improvement addicted enthusiast... . Don't get me wrong I love grey in all its greyness... Each shade is soothing be it the palest almost whimsical shade of White/ Grey or the darkest Noir/ Grey it is a very unoffensive shade almost neutral in its calming universal appeal.

My problem is this....There are other colours not just Forty Shades of... Same as there are other suits and more than one style and colour of brown brogue shoes ... I guess I'm saying that though its good to embrace trends its better to adapt them to your own sense of style and uniqueness . Overkill is never a good move and trends burn out and become jaded even though their ideas were excellent to begin with sadly the overkill almost guarantees their demise in the long term.

So where are these trends born in the first place, who was the first originator of the Navy Suit/Brown shoe combo...... I decided to investigate further and here are the facts that I found.

Designers have always be influenced by the world around them namely Art, Music, Sport and Politics. They look ,they listen, they breath the social and economic happenings greedily and then soak up the inspirational material that the world around them provides. This inspiration trickles and flows onto the runways of every new season each year and into the minds of forecasters and trendsetters in turn.

In turn it drips into our lives be it in a frenzied way via the fashionista types out there who pursue all the latest labels or later in a bargain bin full of last years seconds. Miranda Priestly (played by Meryl Streep) in the movie The Devil Wears Prada 2006 so bitchily and brilliantly put it as she laser cut Andy (played by Ann Hathaway) for wearing the Blue Sweater that she thought she had picked for herself.... Telling her venomously that contrary to Andy's believe that the sweater was chosen for her a few seasons back by people working in that very room... And yes , she was right on that score, we are all affected by trends or the results of them picked by the elite few tucked away in the powerhouses of the fashion world whether we like it or not.

can we be our own trend forecaster.........

So what exactly is a Trend Forecaster....In short Trend Forecasters help and guide Designers into understanding what consumers want. They do not create themselves but rather forage through research and knowledge about what's happening in the world and life around them and so predict the trend before it even happens. This can be anything from the latest single released, the election of a new President to a new book publication. Either a novel made into a film or a visual coffee top collectors book. Madonna's book "SEX" published in 1992 comes to mind. In this book with its highly sexualised images of female empowerment Madonna wore underwear as outerwear and made the corset one of the most popular items of clothing for women in the 1990s. The concept of wearing underwear as outerwear became hugely popular and it still relevant today such is the power of trending. The only common theme in the literature world is a visual one , books are either photographic or of a particular era.

Trend forecasting agencies employ these magic fashion prophets and they work super hard to forecast what we'll all be wearing in the following year or two. Trends do not just happen by accident they are honed , moulded and groomed to fit with whats happening in the world and its the Trend Forecasters job to find out exactly what that is. These fashion foragers go out in the world and seek and plumage ideas and thoughts and inspirations. They travel extensively to places like Asia , Europe , South America and can be inspired by anything from the latest variety of cupcake to the design of a new building.

These Fashion Foragers are super aware of whats happening around them to the extent that they can predict what fashion urges will emerge just from the influences of life events around them. Trend books are then compiled and these books are more precious than any form of metal or monetary worth. These elusive compilations are sold to the highest bidders and are nursed with reverence as they contain all the components for the look and style of our lives for the next few years to come.

So who buys these trend books.....Designers generally are their own trend forecasters and although sometimes they may use their input on issues like textures, colours etc . Trend Forecasters usually sell their predictions to the big Fast Fashion moguls of the High Street Fashion world. Occasionally though they do sell to Designer brands whose design team may not be as strong as they should

Another commercial use for Trend books are the Fashion Magazines that we read. Most of these would depend on Trend Forecasters and the Information they provide. Some recent examples of trends that have emerged from the inspirations and creations of others. First up Peaky Blinders the Flat Cap has never been more popular then since the success of this great series. Another trend the recent popularity in cropped Jeans/Trousers length this was born from the boom in Sneaker(trainers) culture . The popularity of trainers drove leg lengths upwards so those beauties could be seen..

ootd vintage 70s skirt , yellow turban, white waistcoat top, silver cross body bag

When "Mad Men" burst onto our television screens in the early noughties everyone was immersed in 60s fashion thinking. The series immediately had a strong influence over the Fashion Forecasters and it wasn't long before the top designer Miuccia Prada in SS12 sent models down the catwalks with creations that looked like they walked straight off the Mad Men set. Everything was 60s influenced after that and there is still a whiff of it around even today. Sex and the City is another example of a TV series that conquered a world of fashion trending and forecasting. The quirky boho style of Carrie Bradshaw was copied and tweaked amongst the fashion set worldwide such was its power.

Trending is part of all our lives and doesn't just stop at the fashion industry. Its there in the food that we buy and the colours we choose for our homes. These choices we think we make for ourselves but rarely we do. When was the last time you read a magazine that announced the latest new superfood...maybe yesterday.....A few years back it was Blueberries, then avocado and now ......well I need to google it........

As for the Navy suit and Brown Brogue combo.......Well I did my research and I did find Dolce and Gabbana featured dark denim and light wool blue suits with a brown shoe in SS/10. I have to say I didn't notice it at first ladies as I was slightly distracted by the er.. deliciousness of the male models........Heres why.......!!!!

Whats your opinions on Trends and how has it affected you personally be it fashion , food or other aspects of life... Would love to know in the comments.

Talk soon XXX VIOLINKIT