Commercial Trends from Pure Womenswear Autumn/Winter 07/08
01-03-2007
{mosimage}There’s no doubt that Pure has become one of the most influential shows on the UK buying calendar. With over 800 directional womenswear and accessory brands on offer the amount of choice can be somewhat overwhelming.
Catering to several core womenswear markets Pure was split into five key sections that ranged from contemporary brands in Pure Elan to up-and-coming style savvy labels over in Pure Spirit.
This season the event coincided with the likes of London Fashion Week, On/Off and Margin which ensured plenty of overseas buyers were in town. Bettina Odum, Pure’s PR Manager said that there had been a noticeable increase in footfall, particularly from international buyers. Final figures revealed that visitor numbers were up by 4 percent attracting a broad range of retailers from independent boutiques to large department stores such as Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, El Corte Ingles and House of Fraser. As suspected the figures also revealed a 10 percent rise in international visitors, particularly from Ireland, Japan, Spain, France, Germany and Italy.
When it came to key trends for the season, as with the designer collections, there was a predominance of grey, black and muted tones of chocolate, khaki, midnight blue, plum, and sombre neutrals. Who would have thought grey in all its tonal variations would be so strong again after poor sales of the colour last autumn/winter? Well, it’s back for round two, this time, however, it’s combined and livened up with other shades such as hot red, deep purple, chocolate, black & white, and looks better for it too.
Shapes ranged from fitted jerseys to clean tailored lines to airy tunics and smocks. Following on from the last few seasons dresses remain an essential must-have with the addition of more structured grown-up styles. Other key items on show included: wide leg trousers, long knitted cardigans, leather jackets, pussy-bow blouses, chunky knits, shimmering metallics, cropped trousers, fitted silhouettes that feature puff or lantern sleeves, military details and sportswear inspired designs.
Noticeable, considering it was the autumn/winter season, was the lack of long heavy coats. In light of milder winters and poor sales in heavyweight fabrics buyers have been picking up on layering items, such as lighter weight knits, leggings, long cardi’s and jackets rather than coats, particularly leather jackets in tailored styles as well as casual bomber and biker shapes.
Trends on the Pure Catwalk:
Black Magic
Sorry to be obvious but black is the new black. Yes, the fashionista’s favourite is back with a vengeance and looks particular good in clean tailored shapes.
From left to right: 1) Religion. 2) IKKS. 3) Chilli Pepper.
Historical Touch
Rich velvets, tweed and glen checks in autumnal shades of biscuit, chocolate, berry and grey. Sweaters are layered over shirts and trousers are cut wide in long or cropped versions, note the Victoriana references too.
From left to right: 1) Shirt & tank top; Ben Sherman, cardigan; Naf Naf, tweed trousers; Komodo. 2) Velvet suit; Naughty. 3) Shirt; Mark Westwood, jumper; Chilli Pepper, coat; Sasperilla, trousers; The Barn. 4) Grey blouse; The Barn, tweed skirt; CCDK, coat; Bandolera, trilby; Staveley & Staveley.
Fighting Spirit
Military details, camouflage, slushy browns and khaki’s in wearable sports inspired shapes even puffa jackets; it’s urban dressing with lashings of practicality thrown in.
From left to right: 1) Camouflage raincoat; PM – Peoples Market, skirt; Not The Same, scarf; Codello, boots; Bumper. 2) Puffa coat; Fiori Di Oslo, net skirt; Miim. 3) Brown dress; Andy The-Anh and quilted jacket; CCDK.
Elemental
Inspired by the calming elements of nature, dominant tones are black slate, winter white and earthy browns.
From left to right: 1) Fur poncho; Karma, grey leggings; Passport. 2) Long knit dress; Kal Kaur Rai, grey blazer with ruffle collar; James Lakeland. 3) Brown polo neck; Great Plains, jersey dress; Homebody, tights; Gipsy and hat; Staveley & Staveley. 4) Tank top; Naughty, trousers; Almost Famous, fur hat; KC Collection and black boots; Spot-on.
Global Village
Inspired by embellishments and handi-crafts from around the world. A hotchpotch of East meets West with a strong nod towards India and China.
From left to right: 1) Brown knit polo neck; Cocomenthe, print top; Soo-Lee; tweed blazer; Not The Same; black trousers; Burn N Violet. 2) Embroidered coat; Uttam, sunflower dress; Yumi; red tights; Pamela Mann, khaki hat; KuSan Accessories. 3) Grey suede jacket; Modello, pink knit jumper; Amano, pink trousers; Nomads Clothing and cream hat; Pia Rossini.
Active Graphic
Sporty shapes, leggings, ski-wear and hoods galore in striking tones of block colour and bold print with a hint of the 1980s.
From left to right: 1) Black bomber jacket; Mr Freedom, red and blue t-shirt; Religion, black dress; Fever, red stripe gloves; Uttam; blue stripe tights; Pamela Mann. 2) Graphic stripe dress; Naf Naf, red stripe hat; KuSan Accessories and purple stripe tights; Pamela Mann. 3) Polo neck and leggings; Isabel de Pedro and black jacket; Nozomi.
Shimmer & Shine
Glitz, glamour and colour returns for night. Dresses range from short mini-lengths to floor skimming gowns; sequins add shimmer, as do metallics with a strong dose of silver. Shapes range from fitted jerseys to flapper girl styles while tunics remain popular worn over trousers, or for the more daring, over bright opaque tights.
From left to right: 1) Long cream dress; Ema Savahl. 2) Mustard dress; Jode, gold bag; Modalu and gold court shoes; Bourne. 3) Blue multi print kaftan; Jode and yellow tights; Pamela Mann.
You can watch the Pure Autumn/Winter 07/08 catwalk show in our video section. Link: https://www.fashioncapital.co.uk/index.php?option=com_zoom&Itemid=79&page=view&catid=4&PageNo=1&key=4&hit=1
The next edition of Pure is scheduled for 5 – 7 August 2007.
By JoJo Iles ww
w.fashionpr.co.uk
Images by Maciej Wisniewski
