COVERED
Possibly the biggest fashion purchase you’ll make all year, buying the right coat has become more a badge of sartorial honour than the practical purchase of old. Some of fashion’s greatest hits in recent years have been coats or jackets: the shearling wrap-around; the cropped military jacket and of course the biker jacket. They all did some serious time in our wardrobes, and had the good grace to match coverage with style. But no longer is the coat just a means of keeping out the winter chill – the hardest-working item in your closet has moved from after-thought to main event.
This season sees the biker jacket go into storage as knitted coats and blouson jackets take centre stage. Fashion has recently fallen back in love with its softer side – prepare to become very familiar with ‘duck egg’ in Spring 2012 – and this winter is steering us gently but firmly into a new way of dressing.
Fashion’s softer edge has not only introduced gentler silhouettes into the mix (blouson jackets at Marc Jacobs and capes from Burberry) but coats this autumn are covering every base when it comes to how fashion feels. Even the dramatic, sweeping coats featured at Rodarte and Hermes are not just showing off their structure, they are masterpieces of 2011’s super-trend: texture.
The sharp-eyed among you will have spotted that fashion has been steadily introducing softer textures in many guises. They have been everywhere from pussy-bow blouses at Chloe, to the star-spangled jumpsuits from Dolce & Gabbana. Even the tougher finishes have been given a little finesse – the superstar sequinned skirt from Louis Vuitton transforms a bold idea into ladylike chic. There is fluidity in this year’s fashion that hints at a deeper, wiser flexibility: better to be a willow tree than an oak.
This transformation of fashion from hard-as-nails to soft and tactile is a major ideological shift and has turned the idea of the winter coat, our defining outer layer, on its head.
This year, the emphasis is on comfort. It isn’t about hiding away or taking refuge, but rather discovering an element of joy in being unbuttoned, loose and free. Most coats on the runway were shown undone; the Rodarte prairie coats were a particularly moving example of fashion that’s big on volume but not short on ideas. Bold and expansive, the Rodarte collection feels like a breath of fresh air. The strict, military jackets of five years ago in comparison seem like a distant memory.
Fashion is particularly good at responding to the mood of the moment. The ebb and flow of financial markets have always influenced what we wear, but more than ever before, we’re seeing fashion not as a passive response to outside influence, but hard at work to provide solutions.
The generosity of Autumn’s new coats – with swathes of material on display – is fashion’s grand design for tough times. Fashion knows all too well that to cut corners is to send out a financial SOS; but generous folds of luxurious material send out a message that you’ve got it covered.
After years of celebrating tough, urban fashion, the tide seems to be turning. If we dressed for battle during the early part of the recession, as we do our best to ‘keep calm and carry on’, what we need now is comfort.
It’s no accident that our faithful friend shearling returns for another winter, cosseting us up in sophisticated glamour. The wealth of knitted coats available (Chloe, Rag & Bone, Etro) invites us to wrap ourselves in cosiness. The way clothes feel is rapidly becoming the big idea of this decade: the lightness of the looks coming down the runway celebrating freedom, not constriction. It’s not only our range of movement that gets a break this winter: the roomy silhouettes of cocoon coats and capes give us room to relax and take stock. If you’re already feeling the pinch, the gentleness of a cocoon shape won’t fence you in.
But don’t be fooled: fashion’s new affection for softness isn’t about denial; it’s right there in the heat of the action. Swapping tried-and-tested fashion formulas for new textures and bold design is a game-changer, but one that will see fashion going from strength to strength in 2012. Turning away from perceived wisdoms has proved that the fashion industry is still relevant, creative and above all, more than capable of turning in a profit. Back in 2008, many predicted the decline of the fashion industry: nearly four years on, the economic climate hasn’t changed but fashion has. In times like these, fashion is far from frivolous: it has something very profound to say about the art of survival. No matter what, fashion has our back.
HELEN TOPE


























