Monochrome Settings

‘Is there anything else this season?’ answered Roland Mouret when asked whether he agreed that monochrome is this Spring’s It-Trend. The man is right. As opposed to the sea of pastel and neon hues, the predominant colour palette in the warmer seasons is the basic – yet tasty – combination between black and white.

Mono-fashion tends to be a perennial favourite, yet this year it’s bigger than ever! Highly versatile, easily wearable and exquisitely flattering, this trend can be interpreted in at least seven thousand different ways as well as combined with other seasonal trends for some serious fashion statement. Moreover, the black and white combination was and shall always be a classic, meaning that the pieces you invest in this season will happily inhabit your wardrobe for years to come. Unlike that camouflage jacket…

The attractive interplay between the two shades was seen all over the catwalk and is, unexpectedly, also all over our favourite street style sources. Let’s see who we are to blame.

Louis Vuitton, guilty as charged. In a show that has been hailed as a ‘hymn to the swinging sixties’, creative director Marc Jacobs sent his models in pairs down a set of four escalators for his Spring / Summer 2013 collection. Finished with beehives, Alice bands and satin bows at the sides, his creations consisted mostly of sixties-reminiscing silhouettes in black and white. The particular collection can be seen as sweet and cheerful, with a very youthful and playful overall mood. I personally loved how he complemented his monochrome checked patterns with heavily squared silhouettes. Is it just me or do the lines look a million times sharper when these two elements are combined? One can’t help but spot the influence of none other than Mary Quant, especially with the reliance on that eye-catching checked pattern.

Up next is Mister Michael Kors, who keeps delivering one huge success after another. His work in recent seasons has been one memorable contribution after another. His Spring / Summer 2013 collection was mostly unembellished but also highly mod-inspired. Yet, chez Kors, the mod influences took a more nautical turn. As the designer himself mentioned, there was an obvious, palpable Palm Springs and Los Angeles feel to it. Monochrome style from Kors mostly came in stripes. The heavier the stripes, the better. Michael Kors toyed with stripes in different proportions, alignments and widths in what ended up being a black and white stripe party.

One of the finest examples of monochrome mania came from Marc Jacobs at New York Fashion Week. Model Ruby Jean opened Marc Jacobs’s lesson in black and white with a stunning oversized white tee complete with a barcode-like detail of black vertical stripes. The opening number set the tone for a collection that was one big sixties party. Let’s face it, Ruby did look very similar to Edie Sedgwick. Jacobs focussed on that delicate transition between early sixties fashion and the later years when free-spirited youngsters pretty much dictated what was and wasn’t to be worn.

Hard to be missed was the vertically striped coat in monochrome, which I bet looks lovely on a bold-coloured dress. Orange or yellow maybe? Same can be said about the monochrome suit. Whether at work – especially if the job is vaguely fashion-related – or after-work, a black and white striped suit can be easily layered over a coloured blouse. Marc Jacobs is such a genius, he even explored the monochrome theme using separates and subtler details. A clear example is his white suit with black piping and the black dress with white frill at the cuffs. I’ll have a plate of that anytime, thank you.

My personal favourite garment from the entire collection reflects Jacobs’s skill at interpreting a trend using different lengths. After sending his models in classic sixties mini cuts, the collection moved to floor-sweeping black and white dresses. I am head over heels with the vertically striped one – I bet no one is surprised there! – but I also like the ones with the frayed skirts. The latter introduce an added element of interest and even, arguably, a great deal of dimension.

Set against a gorgeous, almost Napoleonic, backdrop of windfarms and solar panels, Karl Lagerfeld presented a collection that was strongly monochromatic and highly dependent on the A-line silhouette. The latest Chanel collection, put together by a Lagerfeld praised as the ‘monochrome master’ was a party of black and white. A very classy party, might I add.

As opposed to the usual reliance on braids, buttons and chains, this collection saw Karl experimenting with monochrome and the quintessential Chanel-style accessory: the pearl. I honestly loved it. My instinct would have told me to choose metallic accessories with black and white outfits, but I can’t deny it’s a futile exercise to deny that Karl’s option was obviously meant to be.

Lagerfeld’s take on all things mono was by far the most elegant. As a sucker for polka dots, I was quite gobsmacked by the first two outfits in the collection. Black and white polka dots are such a classic, iconic look yet they also add that playful touch, making everything a lot more youthful. Leave it to Karl to add a classic Chanel jacket over a pencil dress, layered even further with a rebellious set of statement pearls!

Worth the spotlight was a black, strapless midi dress that is the loveliest and most stunning re-working of the basic black dress I’ve seen in such a long while. The predominantly dark palette gradually made way to a series of crisp all-white combination. All-white, yes, save for the shoes. In order to stay faithful to the monochrome motif, the shoes were black. Very, very chic.

Boleros aren’t quite my cup of tea – unless they are worn over pencil skirts – but the handful of examples showcased in the Chanel collection had an excellent composition! They were flawlessly included as yet another way of going monochrome! Equally appropriate were the details and some of the accessories, which, to no surprise, relied on the sharp contrast between coal-black and snow-white. Check out the platform shoes in black and white stripes as well as the infamous Chanel circular bag! This last one has been the source of controversy ever since its first spotting. The exuberant carry-all comes in a quilted white main section and huge hula-hoop style handles in jet black.

How do I plan on wearing this trend? Well, any way I can. Lots of stripes and polka dots, naturally, probably even simultaneously. There may be some checked and harlequin diamonds too, why not? I’ll definitely use separates too. Life is better in black and white.