Fashion month starts in New York this Thursday, then heads to London, then Milan, and finally ends in Paris. We are about to blessed with major trends, but if you are not looking out for them you could totally miss them. They won't miss you though. There is a trickle down effect that fashion month has.
Miranda Priestly said it best in Devil Wears Prada...
The moral of the story? Even if you consider yourself to be a person who is impervious to fashion or beauty trends, everything you buy down to that cheap lipstick at the drugstore is directly related to fashion month. Almost every makeup/hair trend and absolutely every fashion trend has fashion month to thank. So how does the trickle down work? It's actually quite interesting.
When designers plan their shows they team up with a hair brand and a makeup brand (if they don't have a beauty line of their own). There is usually a cohesive look in mind. For example, for Spring/Summer 2016 Dolce & Gabbana did slicked back ponytails and red lips on every model.
Right after the shows, pictures from backstage and the runway are released to the press. Media outlets will cover the biggest trends (both fashion and beauty) seen on the runway. This is the first seed planted for the extremely trend conscious (think style bloggers or people that are just super chic for no reason in particular). At the end of the day though they still have to see someone wear it to really believe it.
That's the next step in the trickle down-celebrities. Celebs pay thousands of dollars each year on stylists. Stylists all draw their inspiration from fashion month. Those celebrities in turn do red carpet and talk show appearances wearing looks ripped from the runway. Media outlets then pop into the mix again when they cover the hottest celebrity looks. This is when the trend conscious' attentions really perks up.
It's all fun and games until you can actually get your hands on the trends though. Which is the next step- mass production. If you're the type of girl who can afford Alexander Wang when it is not a capsule collection at a fraction of its normal price more power to you. Budget friendly ladies wait for trends to hit stores like Zara, H&M, and Forever 21.
The great thing about these fast fashion stores is it doesn't take too long for it happen. This upcoming fashion month will be showing Fall/Winter 2016 trends. That gives stores ample amount of time to produce before fall goods hit the floor in August/September. They may not hit every trend debuted, but they always hit the strongest ones.
The next step is street style. The most stylish of the group will tackle the trends first and then eventually the less daring of the bunch will join in on the fun. That friend whom could care less about trends will always be a season or two behind, but make no mistake fashion month is the reason they are wearing that slightly out of date pair of pants.
Note that all of these steps can be directly related to hair and makeup as well. Beauty trends pop on the runway and then makeup artists and hairstylists bring those trends to life on celebrities. Beauty mavens emulate these celebrity looks and then the huddled masses emulate the beauty mavens.
Where did it all start though? Fashion month. So now do you see why it is so important?
