Dear Imogen, Thank you SO much for your interesting blog. I enjoy receiving and reading it every day in my inbox.
I just want to ask you; how does the fashion trends move between the northern and southern hemispheres? (I am also south, living in Pretoria, South Africa). Is the summer trends for 2012 in the north (July, Aug), our’s for summer 2012(Dec, Jan..)?
Erika
Fashion Trends Northern and Southern Hemisphere 2012 2013 by imogenl featuring slim fit pants
I have been thinking a lot about this topic recently and doing some research as I subscribe to some Northern Hemisphere magazines as well as those available in Australia so I can do a comparison with what they tell us are the upcoming trends.
Interestingly I’ve noticed recently that there is little difference between the seasons. In fact I am starting to think that the Southern Hemisphere is getting some of the trends before the Northern. As soon as the catwalk shows have happened, our suppliers go into immediate production of the trends that have been shown, now that the manufacturing turn around time is so quick, we’re seeing trends in stores rapidly.
There is definitely some cross-over too, particularly as Australia has a temperate climate so any trend that is not completely seasonal can be interpreted for either the Spring/Summer or Autumn/Winter fashion trends quite easily.
For example – in the picture above, the Spring Summer 2013 black and white trend shown by Louis Vuitton is similar in its feel to the current season Spring/Summer 2012 stock in one of our local retailers Sass and Bide.
Then there are the floral jackets shown Autumn/Winter 2012 which have been in stores since our Autumn/Winter 2012 and remain there for the Spring/Summer 2012 as well.
Top: Lucky Magazine October 2012
Bottom: Shop til You Drop Magazine April 2012
The fashion shows (Paris/Milan/New York/London) the Autumn/Winter 2012 trends were shown last February/March and are now coming into stores in the Northern Hemisphere. And they have just shown Spring/Summer 2013 which won’t be into stores in the Northern Hemisphere til next February/March, but already we are seeing trends from those shows in our stores this Spring/Summer 2012/2013 here in the Southern Hemisphere.
For example, over this past Autumn/Winter 2012 in the Southern Hemisphere we’ve had the trends of:
- Chunky Knits
- Leather and fur
As you can see in the picture on the left – top picture is from October 2012 Lucky magazine (US magazine) and the bottom one is from five months earlier – April 2012 Shop til You Drop magazine (Australian magazine) which shows looks for winter – chunky knits and leather/fur vests.
Then again in these same issues of these magazines:
In April in Australia bold checks and houndstooth and in October in the US – I find houndstooth and checks in both the editorial and advertising of Lucky magazine.
Top: Shop til You Drop April 2012, Bottom: Lucky October 2012
Coach Advertisement Autumn/Winter 2012 in Lucky Magazine October 2012
So to answer your question, I’m not 100% sure. I think some trends are interpreted into our current season directly from the catwalk shows into the alternate Southern Hemisphere season (so we get them first) and others appear 6 months later after the Northern Hemisphere has had them.
As there are now so many retailers who are almost global, we find that we get the same garments in store (particularly if they’re not hugely seasonal) at the same time, both hemispheres.
What are your experiences with the fashion trends? Have you noticed if one hemisphere is markedly different from the other when you’ve been traveling or browsing on the internet?
