As Bristol has finally been blessed with warmer temperatures, Second year History of Art student Miranda Smith discusses how some of the biggest fashion houses like Alexander McQueen and Simone Rocha are changing their take on the typical floral for Spring time.
Florals for spring is always a given (definitely not a ground-breaking affair), but when you mix that with flirtatious frills and lace detailing you know that femininity is back in full swing. In my eyes, androgyny is done - for the moment anyway - and women are being told that they should never be prouder of their gender and the traditional image that engulfs us. Some brands have mixed in a little bit of edge totheir looks, but the overall idea is of feminine splendour and tulle galore.
One only has to look at the collection from McQueen SS18 to understand what I am talking about. The incredible floral tulle dresses worn with chunky darker necklaces are simply incredible.
The collection is girl meets grunge but in an exquisite way, with not too much Victorian-esque additions - the dresses are truly the modern feminine essential.
Also, the details of the pieces is minute: flowers are sewn in random looking exactness, ruffles or extra lace is precisely placed, the tiny black belts cinch in the waist of the already tiny models, giving them more of an hourglass figure, something typically believed to be ladylike and womanly.
Rodarte's show also epitomised the idea for me. The models appeared in a garden setting in their lace, and with floral garlands around their heads. They were visions of ultimate femininity.
Zimmermann is yet another brand to introduce sheer girliness to the coming season. Balloon sleeves, fine detailing in baby pastels or bolder floral designs in bright yellows, and ruffly edges were seen in many of the looks.
Simone Rocha flirts with the idea, more implicitly than explicitly. The colours of the pieces, mostly black and white it must be said, don't allow the viewer to immediately class the collection as something feminine, but the detailing of the floral prints and the materials chosen for the collection do. Dolce & Gabbana do similar, except that their florals are much bolder and are more like pop art than fine art.
My favourite ASOS picks which draw on this idea and emulate the following large fashion houses are detailed below:
Featured Image: Rodolfo Sanches Carvalho / Unsplash
What do you think of this take on femininity for spring? Let us know:
