From Catwalk to Cast On
Fall 2008
By Henrietta Dups
Henrietta gives you the low down on the latest fashion trends and how to interpret them with your knitting needles.
Fall has to be one of my most favourite times of year. The days start getting colder, the nights longer and I happily cocoon myself away in my warm cosy house. With glossy glamorous magazines piled high I lazily idle the hours away fantasizing about the seriously trendy and stylish winter wardrobe I am going to have this year. Back to reality with a snap, I mournfully realise that with the current credit crisis, shopping till I drop is definitely off the agenda this season. However as I start to plunge into the dark, deep abyss of a shopaholics despair, my Vogue magazine slips from my hands and thudding onto the floor it lands pages open to a fashion spread that in an instant rescues me from my inner turmoil. Staring back at me from the pages is the gamine Agyness Deyn in this season's hottest trend, English Eccentric and in an instant I am buzzing.
Page after page of recycled trends all beautifully styled with knitwear galore as only the English can do best. Think the Queen on a Shoot (Dolce & Gabanna nailed this to a tee) mixed with Lilly Allen. The late Isabella Blow was the absolute doyenne of this look and Vivienne Westwood simply is 'it'. Suddenly I realise that I can revive my tired winter wardrobe of last year with fabulous hand knitted key pieces costing me only the time (which I have plenty of, no money to party) and the yarn.
At Dolce & Gabanna the emphasis was on grandmother's silk head scarves teamed with tartan skirts and blazers layered over 'Pringle' inspired diamond sweaters worn with practical gumboot style leather knee high boots and sturdy leather handbags.
There was one interesting 'yetty' style vest in red worn belted over a knee length kilt at the Dolce & Gabanna show which instantly caught my attention. The 'yetty' vest could definitely be re-created with fluffy, hairy novelty yarn for the really daring knitters.
DKNY saw a return to classic tweed skirt suits with a modern twist, the jackets were worn undone over baggy cable knit mustard yellow jumpers and short tweed puff ball skirts topped off with oversized grey slouchy double rib beanies.
While at Diane von Furstenburg the scene stealer was a long grey cable knit cardigan in cashmere worn open over a fluid yet flimsy, electric blue satin frock detailed with lace - the ensemble cinched in at the waist with a black skinny leather belt.
The Mad Hatters Tea Party instantly came to mind when models teetered down the runway at Galliano wearing delicate silk chiffon tea party frocks with huge caricature style variegated chunky knit hats with a cap style brim. Definitely a look worth interpreting this autumn, however to make it more user friendly I would suggest knitting it in normal hat dimensions.
On the headwear front hats really were a big trend this season with everything from normal head hugging double rib beanies in black at Ralph Lauren, to witch-style beanies at Luella, both Lacoste and Nicole Miller featured chic grey cable knitted caps, and at Alexander McQueen a seriously stylish widow style noir mohair hood was the piece de resistance, not least for its beautiful drape which was created using loose garter stitch. A definite must have for this season, although I would be tempted to cast it on in white for a flattering and elegant Snow Queen diva effect. It should be noted that black framing the face can be quite aging as it absorbs all the light, leaving you looking drawn and haggard. See Anouskha Tay's debute design for knitonthenet echoing the cabled caps or knit the cowl from Truffle to wear as a simple hood.
Chanel did not disappoint with a simple yet elegant pale grey cashmere cable and rib beret co-ordinated with a double rib, figure hugging, sweater dress with front pockets. On that note I must comment that knitted sweater dresses were featured in practically every collection during fashion week. Alexander McQueen had an 80's style sweater dress in neutral tones of black, charcoal, grey and white mohair reminiscent of a spider web, layered over black leggings. DKNY and Matthew Williamson showcased intricate multi-coloured geometric intarsia patterned knit dresses, while at Alice Temperley and Sonia Rykiel the intarsia was simpler, bolder and organic in design.
Indeed, there are two sweater dress patterns, Truffle by Susan Crawford and Faerytale by Du Store Alpakka, in this issue picking up on this trend.
Missoni, the trendsetters of knitwear disappointingly steered clear of their trademark knits this season with only a few nods to their pioneering knit status. Fortunately there was one sweater dress that really took the cake, a two tone turquoise 60's silhouette piece in structured moss stitch which was absolutely to die for.
Biggan Design's Maria rib turtle neck sweater dress is another 'must have' garment this autumn, it looks fantastic over opaque tights with ballet flats, or layer it over an ankle length tartan skirt to really be on the pulse this season.
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Biggan Design has several fabulous striped knitting kits this season including the finely striped Ylva vest, the wide striped fitted Judy vest in six shades of yellow or teal, the wide collar Sarah sweater in either autumnal tones or bold brights, and the Nissa beanie and scarf kit incorporates the key looks of the extra long scarf and the slouchy beanie.
The stand out colours from the catwalks for this autumn and winter were black, black and more black closely followed by shades of grey and white with bold splashes of bright colours. The key colours to have followed through from summer were electric blue, yellow, scarlet, cerise, orange and turquoise. New shades that have been added to the colour palette are earthy tones such as light olive, yellow green, golden green, spruce, coffee, chocolate, russet, burnt, orange, ochre, latte and the berry reds.
Finally with all this talk of recycling past trends it is worth noting that both florals and bow belts have followed through from summer with Chanel sporting corsages galore and both Emporio Armani and Temperley continuing the bow belt look. So without further ado get searching through our pattern archives, rummage through your stash and get knitting.
