This is an archive trend report from the Fall Winter 2009/2010 season.
The season carried a great deal of surface detail, but the recession shaped what kind. Everything was built to be durable and hard-wearing as well as decorative, and the pieces were designed to last several seasons rather than one.
Checks and plaids
Back in force, worked in basic colors: blues, blacks, browns and reds. Nautical checks combining blues, reds and whites were a defining version of the trend.
Animal prints
Still prominent, with zebra and leopard leading.
Lace and burlesque
Substantial that season. Satin bodices worked with intricate lace panels set the party register, and the effect is deliberately soft and delicate against the heavier textures elsewhere in the collections.
Fur, leather and feathers
Fur, mock fur, animal skins, leather, feathers and mohair appeared throughout garments and accessories. The character is textured, luxurious and dominating rather than subtle.
Hardware scaled up to match. Buttons, zippers and other fastenings were large and deliberately eye-catching rather than concealed.
Faux fur stoles and scarves were the accessible version of the trend, and they carry it without the commitment of a whole coat.
Applied detail and pattern
Ruffles, lace, plaids, zippers, chains, studs, beads and sequins were used across garments and accessories alike.
The pattern vocabulary was unusually broad: brocades, ethnic and indigenous patterns, folkloric themes, mosaics, mirror work, tribal prints and motifs, geometric patterns, asymmetrical designs and cuts, drapes, stylized motifs, braids and cutwork.
Floral prints
Florals never really leave, and that season they ran from abstract and painterly interpretations through to versions realistic enough to look botanical.
The point about florals is their range of application. The same print works on accessories, bags, belts, shoes, scarves, swimwear, sleepwear and jewelry, which is why the category outlasts every trend cycle it appears in.
Knitwear
Prominent, worked in bold cables and heavy knits with large pockets and collars. Belted versions were the dressier option.
Glitter and shimmer
Sequins, sheen and shimmering fabrics were widely used, as a deliberate counter to a dark winter palette.
The most practical suggestion from the season still holds: an old knitted piece can be brought forward simply by stitching in a few sequins or beads. Combining knitwear with glitter was one of the season’s more successful pairings, and it costs almost nothing to do.
Cinched waists and the 1940s reference
Jackets, shirts, dresses and sweaters with cinched waists carried a French-inspired retro look drawn from the 1940s.
Belts were correspondingly everywhere, on jackets, overcoats, skirts and trousers, and used to belt sweaters and cardigans that would otherwise hang straight. Adding a belt to an existing piece is the cheapest way into this look, which is precisely why it suited the season.
Masculine and feminine fusion
The continuing trend of drawing menswear conventions into womenswear. A tailored blazer cut on masculine lines, or shift and shirt dresses in fabrics such as tweed, are the clearest expression of it.
Frequently asked questions
Which of these have lasted?
Checks, animal prints, florals and belting recur across seasons. The heavy fur and oversized hardware were more specific to that year.
What is the cheapest way into this season’s look?
A belt over an existing cardigan or coat, and a few sequins stitched into an old knit. Both were suggested at the time for exactly that reason.
See also the season’s color trends and key looks.
