Fall 2012 was all about a darker, more gothic aesthetic, inspired by ‘The girl with the Dragon Tattoo’, while for Spring 2013, it seems that many designers have been avid readers of the infamous, erotic novel ’50 Shades of Grey.’ The novel explores the sexual and emotional relationship of a man and a woman which was primarily characterised by dominance and submission, highs and lows and a general juxtaposition of emotions.

How could this possibly be translated in a  runway collection, you might wonder?

Well when it came to Jason Wu, he mixed the romantic and the fierce by adding lace to an A-line leather skirt, matching a a sophisticated navy jumpsuit with sheer gloves or a pencil skirt to a rather provocative bustier (a collaboration with La Perla). It was intriguing to say the least, to see the designer explore provocation and move away from the uber-elegant, Upper East Side-appropriate aesthetic that characterised the majority of his previous collections. Quite a beautiful, sartorial interpretation of this unusual (putting it mildly) literary love story, don’t you think?

Mr. Max Azria must have been reading 50 Shades of Grey, as well. What else would explain the array of leather harnesses, which decorated both the soft, ethereal, lace-panelled dresses at BCBG and his signature, sexy, bandage dresses at Herve Leger?

Charlotte Ronson was another one to play with contrasts: feminine peplums were matched with daring mesh-cutout mini skirts and PVC was added to romatic floral ensembles. I’d think the buyers would get a little confused seeing a leather cropped top and skirt coming down the runway one second and a romantic pink, floral jumpsuit the next, but pleasantly surprised was more like it!

~

Article by Natalie Theodosi

Images Courtesy of Mercedes Benz Fashion Week