2020 Vision — What’s Trending at the Shows

The Spring Summer fashion season came slap in the centre of a global awareness campaign over the climate crisis, with Greta Thunberg (in flaming pink) thundering at the UN Climate Action Summit, the Extinction Rebellion staging protests at Victoria Beckham’s show in London, and Oxfam joining forces with stylist Bay Garnett and model Stella Tennant in urging everyone to shop second-hand for September.

In Paris, Stella McCartney brought scientists and activists to a think tank at L’Opéra Garnier, including the brand’s head of sustainability Claire Bergkamp and model-activist Amber Valletta. The big question is: how does fashion navigate consumption issues and the glut of stuff in the world without the diminishing the joy we take in dressing up and wearing clothes? One course of action, spearheaded by Gucci, is to go carbon-neutral and offset the brand’s environmental footprint with donations to reforesting programmes. This was followed by eco-conscious New York-based designer Gabriela Hearst, who offset the cost of her New York fashion show. “I want my brand to stand for values,” she says, adding that her 11-year-old daughter urged her to take action.

Parisian Marine Serre is one designer who takes the issue by the jugular, imagining how we would look in a post-flood world. Her solution? Protective flying suits, crochet tablecloths turned into dresses, and nightgowns transfigured into multi-layered robes. Ultimately, Serre is an optimist and she believes in fashion’s power to survive. “The temperature has gone up radically, but more self-confident than ever, my women adapt and codify their futurist-shamanic styles,” she says of her tribal sci-fi vision. Meanwhile, Paris fashion watchers tackled torrential showers with Kassl trench coats and combat boots.

Whether brands are taking direct action or still finding their way, nature is all around as designers express their respect for planet earth. Giant dreamlike watercolour florals appeared on Marni’s ruched cotton dresses, giant gladioli on cocoon-shaped skirts by Dries Van Noten, who collaborated with master of flamboyance Christian Lacroix. Laura Kim and Fernando Garcia at Oscar de la Renta designed sunny gowns to look like flowers in full bloom. Jacquemus, who showed his 10th-anniversary collection back in June, took his audience into deep nature, staging the show in the south of France in an idyllic rolling lavender field. His boys and girls dressed in sun-faded cotton workwear jackets, apron skirts and artists’ smocks are pin-ups for 2020.

Today’s women of influence — mission investors, activists and philanthropists alike — may be bicycling to breakfast meetings and eating vegan fare but they still want to punch above their weight in style. Cue a new taste for simple, fuss-free items that allow one to move freely and feel at ease. Victoria Beckham satisfied some of those yearnings with fluid blouses, split-panel skirts and natty trouser suits in shades of tobacco and emerald green. Bottega Veneta’s sweeping glossy leather trench coats and denim all-in-ones and Roksanda’s outsized jersey suits with jogger-style pants look set for business too.

Where fashion before was defined by loud, shouty statements, by giant embellishments and the spectacular, the 2020 wave is ushering in a wave of garments that date back centuries — think sari-style dresses, tunics, capes and togas. Done with all the trimmings and fuss? Self-styled clothes with knots, drape and tie fastenings starred at Rokh, Jacquemus, Lemaire and many more.

Tomato red, terracotta and sunshine yellow are bringing a flash of energy, while mint green and turquoises are leading a new trend for coloured tailoring, for men as well. In the background, fashion’s new muses are activists and visionaries present and past, with author Toni Morrison, political campaigner Tina Modotti, Christy Turlington, Meghan Markle, Jane Goodall, Yara Shahidi and Joan Didion among them. As a journalist in the 1970s, Didion would have a packing list for assignments that included a midi skirt, a couple of leotard bodies, knee-length boots, a trench and a shawl. It’s a match for the “get on with it” uniform we want for now.

A dressy skirt might be one of Spring’s best buys. Tom Ford sent out cocoon shapes paired with a simple streamlined body in a New York subway setting. That touch of couture in the underground chimes with the aspirations of our times. Sweeping prairie skirts, meanwhile, are shorthand for a mellow mood.

Tailored jackets and trousers are holding strong on the front row, with Petar Petrov, Gabriela Hearst, McQueen and Burberry as firm favourites. Utility all-in-ones have still got a firm grip (so easy to slip on), as have outsized workwear shirts and jackets. Bottega Veneta’s quilted pumps and mules were the most envied footwear of choice alongside Prada’s rhinestone tango heels and Celine’s knee-high boots. If there’s one addition to your look right now add a beautiful belt — be it Valentino, Celine or Gucci. Fastened over a fine knit or a tank dress, it’s an item that declares “I AM READY AND HERE.”