Come Valentine’s Day, and women all over start to ask themselves that age-old, all-important question – what am I going to wear ? Here’s some inspiration from the most romantic looks this Spring-Summer to get you started…
Slinky in Silk: Silk is the luxe fabric of choice for Spring-Summer 2014. Ulyana Sergeenko’s vision for the season was embodied almost entirely in silk, with twenties-inspired silk skirts, and silk dresses in hues of cherry, claret, white, teal and black. Sexy claret wrap-minis at Schiaparelli, bronze and biscuit hued silks chez Valentino and ethereal blue silk at Versace all set an aristocratic, deliciously decadent mood for Spring-Summer. Indulge in the fantasy by scoring a wine-hued silk shirt to pair with your regular denims, or slipping into a negligee-style silk skirt with a demure mid-calf hemline.
Pink! Okay, so before you go all, ‘pink is for seven-year old girls in pigtails’, we’re not talking Barbie pink here. The newest alternative hue to add to your basic ebony and ivory haute couture palette is light pink. The pick of the season? Palest pink satin like the delicate glimmer of rose on a seashell, with a dash of sequins was the grown-up version of the fairytale at the Spring-Summer showing at Atalier Versace and Alexis Mabille. Chanel’s nod to this hue was seen in pale pink suits, while Elie Saab did a series of pretty, blush-pink dresses. Though Valentine’s Day ensembles are traditionally red, light pink is a wonderfully feminine alternative, especially for a mellower, more romantic mood.
Say it with flowers: Flowers and flower-prints also dominated the couture scene at the Spring-Summer showings. Elie Saab’s wide, 50s style skirts and sweeping gowns embellished with appliqué flowers and black and blue flower print gowns breathed femininity – score this trend for street wear with a tiny difference, swapping out the bridal white lace for something in shades of pale beige or off-white. Bright blue appliqué flowers bloomed against pristine white ensembles at Giambattista Valli, lending a traditional couture collection a touch of almost Mediterranean breeziness.
Swishy skirts: Not all loose clothes are frumpy! Designers draped their models in skirts that cascaded down gracefully at the Spring-Summer ramps. Valentino’s gorgeous couture collection for the season had short, voluminous minis to calf-skimming skirts and full, floor-sweeping diaphanous fabrics that created an ethereal, light-as-air effect. Ace designer Donatella Versace turned up the heat with bright blue, canary yellow and flame coloured dresses with wicked thigh-high, Angelina Jolie-esque slits.
Super-short minis: This season, when it comes to minis, think really, really short. Christian Dior’s wide-skirted minis created a bit of a baby-doll effect, while Dutch designer duo Victor and Rolf had Dutch ballerinas on point as models, dressed almost exclusively in elegant, minimalistic mini-dresses for Spring-Summer 2014.
Spring is in the air, and all of nature is dressed in its springtime finery to welcome the season of love and beauty. So get a little bit of the season’s magic in your life – starting with your wardrobe!
