GINGHAM

With houndstooth all the rage this winter, thanks to Hedi Slimane, it’s little wonder that gingham — a sort of summer version of the lumberjacket check — is going to be a hit next year. Why does it keep on coming back? Because checks are classic and timeless, some would argue, yet bold, subversive and always a bit “cool”. Just beware the flimsy cotton summer dress, which will have the unfortunate habit of resembling your children’s uniform.

SOCKS

You know socks are going to be a thing when even Anthony Vaccarello, the latest designer to produce a cling ’’ bling collection for Versus, Versace’s diffusion label, sticks a pair of black socks on half the stiletto-sandal-clad models he sends down the catwalk. Never mind that they were dressed in the shortest miniskirts or thigh-grazing, laser-cut dresses with safety pins, recalling a youthful Liz Hurley. Anyone affecting student cool in socks and sandals will need to up their game.

THE LONG JACKET

The longer-length jackets seen on the Lim catwalk made me realise how we’ve become used to cropped jackets. New proportions are always tricky to get your head around. Should your trousers be longer or cropped? What sort of skirt? The resounding advice from the New York catwalk was to go for as long as you can on your bottom half, for lean, column-like proportions. And for your feet? Blocky, chunky sandals and the “flatform” (soon to be seen on every high street).

 

THE EVEN LONGER SKIRT

Apart from Versus, which was poetically fixated on women’s thighs and buttocks, hemlines on day dresses and skirts at the New York shows looked positively Victorian. Some designers hovered halfway between the knees and mid-calf, with varying degrees of success, so it took a decisive Brit to champion skirts that fell way below the shin. Beckham pulled off the remarkable feat of showing you how to wear an elongated, slimmish silhouette with flat shoes (pointed ones help) and still look elegant. Tricky for shorties, but easier to navigate than the midiskirt.

NEOPRENE

Thick, padded neoprene isn’t an obvious choice in the Big Apple, where humidity levels soar into the high 90s. Let it never be said, though, that New Yorkers are not devoted to the cause. How else to explain the number of “spongy” ensembles in the past few days? The most winning came from DKNY, including oversized parkas, scuba dresses and voluminous skirts in bold-coloured graphic patterns, plus a white Hepburnesque wedding dress, cut low at the back.

VERTICAL STRIPES

Vertical stripes are a-happening next year. Forget all you’ve read about them making you look wider: vertical can work if you mix stripes of varying thickness. Altuzarra mastered this on pencil skirts, while Victoria Beckham showed them swirled over long, jersey-knit dresses. They weren’t confined to monochrome. Bold clashing stripes were popular; so too were the candy-coloured ones at Suno. Rejoice: you will look “everyday normal”, but console yourself that, in fashion speak, you will still be “working a look”.

STONE (or beige!)

New York isn’t a fashion capital that embraces rubber sequins. Clothes the colour of Starbucks coffee have always gone down a storm and 2015 is no different. Except that beige shall be known as stone. Because this most bland of shades has had a makeover — in jute at Victoria Beckham; thick, industrial-looking twill cotton at Rag & Bone, and swishy-tastic linen everywhere else. In a twist of irony, “stone” will mark out the dresser who is not trying too hard.

FLATFORM

It was only a matter of time before someone combined the comfort of flats with the positive psychological uplift of a bit of added height. Flatforms ruled the New York catwalks, appearing in many guises, from sleek, minimal-looking, rubber-moulded versions at Coach to sportier, beachy styles at DKNY and strappy wooden or jewel-encrusted ones at Rag & Bone and Thakoon. Be warned, spindly high heels — your days are numbered.

Carolyn Asome

(The Times, London)