The New Soft Line:Rounded shoulders and puffy shoulders come to the fore for autumn/winter

 

” Soft, Curvy and round”, as Vogue puts it, is the mantra for the new silhouette. Does not provide an image of high fashion we suppose. As for those whose espouse this new trend, we also have Chanel, Jil and Sander, Moschino, Lanvin, Loewe, Dries Van Noten and Burberry Prorsum. Stella McCartney first put this silhouette on the ramp with puffy large shoulders as well as over sized sweaters. Extra sized cuts appeared in all the brands promoting the culture.

To talk about the gist of this new silhouette would be to translate a ‘no joint’ look into all the clothes, i.e. the new clothes are supposed to make one look as if they had no joints at all. This is mainly achieved through bell sleeves (no elbow look) and over sized cocoon coats. It may seem like an unfortunate trend but it can look beautiful. Most of us would never even dare to go near those clothes which would not only make a relatively slim person look ’round’ and bigger though provide a soft edge. It is heavy irony that these clothes are only promoted by the skinniest of models, which mostly have nothing but sharp joints and straight lines.

Stella McCartney’s jumper dresses are just not meant to serve what jumpers are meant for. One would expect a woolen dress to keep them warm and comfortable in winter. But her dresses’ fabric is made as stiff as a card so as to preserve the outline of the silhouette. Doing this doesn’t serve our primary purpose of warmth and comfort in winter.

Giambattista Valli put the silhouette to work in evening wear, showcasing floor length gowns and peplum topped trousers. Something to note is the cocoon coat. Burberry’s woolen winter coats have these huge caps like sleeves and could probably fit in two people. It is rather unfortunate that even for this level of craftsmanship, the coats are just not meant to provide any warmth during a chilly night.

The sacrifice of comfort one has to make for the Soft Line clothes can almost be equally weighed against the restriction and limitation of mobility women faced while in Victorian clothes. Is fashion going in the right directions?

About the author: Alia Haley is a frequent blogger on the wedding portal. She has covered many interesting topics related to pre and post wedding scenario like wedding cakes, themed weddings, bridal shower, honeymoon destinations and wedding beers. These days she is busy in writing on Princess Prom Dresses.