2023 in fashion - a lot of shimmer and even more bravado
Published:Sunday | January 7, 2024 | 12:06 AMShanel Lemmie - Staff Reporter
In the year of our Lord 2023, fashion had a moment in the sun quite unlike any other. With the world seemingly recovered in most ways from the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw the return of runways, concerts and red carpets.
Taking a look back at the year that was, local fashionista and merchandiser Ann Marie Clarke of Gaychel Boutique is sharing the trends she thought made a splash in 2023.
Starting of with the material that dominated everyone’s mood board for more than half of the year, Clarke is giving the metallic trend its flowers.
“One thing that was really big last year was the metallic trend,” she began. “It kind of came to rise on Beyoncé’s Renaissance Tour. So in terms of the ‘fits that she wore, a lot of her custom outfits were in that full metallic look and it just filtered down into the audience.”
The Renaissance World Tour which later became Renaissance: A film by Beyoncé had the unspoken requirement to arrive in black and/or silver, paying homage to the icon’s cover art and marketing photos from her seventh studio album of the same name.
“I don’t know if you remember it but all these women literally like going to the concert wearing their sparkly silver and gold outfits and even this Christmas, I think there was a mass sea of the silver pants, silver denim, everyone in their little silver Lamé crop tops; it really kind of filtered down into the world of fashion all over, you know.”
Also one of the staples for this year’s ‘Alien Superstars’ was leather. Clarke explained, “Leather generally had a massive resurgence. Just in terms of the construction. I think people are also more open to different types of leather, vegan leathers. I know Kylie Jenner just launched a vegan leather brand towards the end of the year.”
The Kylie Cosmetics founder launched her a 12-piece faux leather clothing line in collaboration with global fashion brand Namilia called Khy.
Commending the oldie but goodie, Clarke added, “Leather has just kind of taken over in terms of how people are wearing and styling it. Wearing lots of full leather looks like leather suiting, there’s a lot more tailoring in the leather space. Even in terms of the different textures and pairing different coloured leathers together. It just felt like leather looks were kind of coming together in a way that’s bold and fresh.”
“The other thing I’d say which kind of filtered down from the art world is texture in terms of clothing, shoes, how people do their nails. Everyone was kind of into a 3D view of things. I think a brand that’s doing excellent right now is Diotima by Rachel Scott. You know how she does her crochet these days, there’s just that 3D element to it that just so ethereal, girly and flirty.”
Brooklyn-based Jamaican fashion label Diotima had its debut at New York Fashion Week last September for Spring 2024.
A NOD TO PLATFORM SHOES
Rounding up with footwear, Clarke gave a nod to platform shoes. “I think platforms always have a space,” she began. “I think I loved the new way they’re doing them, you know, like the Maison Margiela Tabis. That look, it feels like a nod to the early 2000s yet it still feels very relevant, very current.
Though praising the classic style, Clarke made note to give less bulky options their praise as well. “Similar to the conversation about texture and 3D, we’re seeing a lot of that 3D kind of thing coming into the shoe space like what Amina Maddie does. Her shoes, she definitely has a lot of appliqués and stuff on her [pieces] and all of that kind of thing coming through.”
For Clarke, it was a successful year in fashion, and she hopes that for 2024 there will be a reliance on colour of some form.
“What I love that I’ve seen kind of coming through in some of the spring-summer trends is the way that they’re using girly colours. Like the lavenders coming through, the pale pinks. I like the usage of colour and I think that that’s something that’s kind of going to continue.”
Already this wish for softer colours may be seen in the Pantone colour of 2024 – peach fuzz, “a colour radiant with warmth and modern elegance,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director, Pantone Color Institute.
Switching to the topic of skin colour and greater diversity in fashion, Clarke added, “I don’t know if this is relevant and it’s not necessarily a trend but something that I’ve kind of seen happening and something that I hope carries through to 2024 is just how diverse the fashion space is becoming in terms of including the viewpoints of [and] a lot more contribution from people from the Caribbean. So a lot more black and brown people in the fashion space having a lot more influence. We’ve seen that with what Pharrell is doing at Louis Vuitton, just his whole new fresh take on where that direction is going and I see that coming through a lot in lots of the other fashion houses. Where people are bringing their minority viewpoints into the fashion.”