TREND I-SPY

Like everyone else I am absorbed in the media coverage of the disastrous earthquake in Haiti. On one hand, the magnitude of the human suffering taking place is beyond belief. On the other hand, so is the enormous courage of the people there, from tiny children to the elderly. It has made me stop and think about nature and the place of man within it. It seems that the more we try to control it the less success we have! Some of the world's premier trend forecasters have spent the past few years contemplating this very topic. We believe that it has influenced every avenue of fashion and design, from color and print to fabrics and shapes. One early adopter was Miucca Prada. Her collection for F2007 showed a variety of garments made from intricately woven fabrics with special effects that turned mohair into moss and and shag pile into verdantly green grass. Prada F2007 Miucca Prada appears to have re-visited this man-in-nature theme for her men's F2010 show wherein she showed a fe...

At this point, with over a decade on the job behind him, it's clear that Nicolas Ghesquière's design heart lies at the intersection of Fashion (Capital F) and active sport. His Pre-Fall 10 Collection for Balenciaga included many of the signature design devices we've seen in seasons past; technical fabrics, molded volume, leggings, sweats, skinny pants and mini wrap skirts. Most notable perhaps was the use of bold color and the sort of slightly tacky foliage prints usually associated with off-duty surfer dudes. What is somehow comforting is that delve back into the designer's widely-ranging repertoire of the past ten years and the seeds of everything shown here can be found in a previous collection. Balenciaga Pre-Fall 2010

Architectural minimalism, body-conscious bell shapes, innerwear-as-outwear, tartan and plaid, sparkle and shine: All recently popular trends, all seen first on the runway of Balenciaga. Certain designers are known for having a signature style, while others seem to spearhead whatever is the most important trend of the season. In the case of Nicolas Ghesquière at Balenciaga, he is more often than not ahead of the curve. I found some great examples when I scoured through Style.com. Francisco Costa was lauded in S2009 for his architecturally-biased collection for Calvin Klein. Three years before, a very similar dress appeared in the S2006 Balenciaga show. The innerwear-on-the-outside trend was the overwhelming success of the S2010 Collections. Balenciaga showed a version with an exposed bra back in Spring 2006! For Pre-Fall 10 Vera Wang twinned a sparkling shift with a fine knit cardigan resembling a dress with a similar feel from Balenciaga's Spring 06 show. Balenciaga's collect...

Jason Wu Pre-Fall 2010 Two more designers with a military bent for Pre-Fall 2010 are Vera Wang and Jason Wu, who confirms that a big belt is a must-have accessory for that season! Vera Wang Pre-Fall 2010

Chanel Pre-Fall 2010 For the Chanel show the designation was Shanghai and naturally enough Karl Lagerfeld included a whole host of Chinoiserie and Red Army detailing. But amongst the cheongsams, Qipao gowns, Mongolian tapestry boots and shaggy furs was hard evidence that over-the-knee and thigh high boots will be as important next year as they are now, more parade uniform styling for overcoats and what is fast becoming a Pre-Fall 2010 basic requisite, leather leggings.

Versace Pre-Fall 2010 To paraphrase Heidi K, in fashion, one day it's Spring and the next day it's already Pre-Fall. Versace's collection showed that trends continuing from this year will include lingerie-inspired dresses and corsets, a fuller-on-top, skinny-on-the-bottom silhouette, peaked shoulders, leggings (again!!) and fun fur gilets. So if you decide to only buy one thing for Pre-Fall next year, make it a really great belt because they go over EVERYTHING.