Fashion trends and show

N1: Lara Ceroni.

It was a dark and very rainy night last September 16th, but inside Schad’s sexy, exposed-brick fashion boutique on Ottawa’s Victorian Sussex Drive it was all abuzz as we launched our Trends in Design series with a night of fashion talk and show. 

With the open two-storey space packed full, and surrounded by Schad’s latest offerings for the winter season, fashion-conscious and tech-savvy Lara Ceroni, Online Editor at Elle Canada, alighted. “Alighted — like a bird?” you ask. Yes.

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“Part of the luxury of working at Elle Canada is that we have the opportunity to travel the world and study fashion,” says the jet-setting fashion-maker, “We’re always trying our best to stay on top of the trends and see what’s happening next.”

For her presentation Ceroni flew through Fall-Winter 2010’s iconic looks for women, or “moods” as she prefers to call them, culled from the runways of Europe’s fashion capitals. What’s next? And what’s next, next?

Mood 1: The silent treatment

“In the age of modern technology, silence is going to be the new luxury,” says Ceroni after having interviewed Roland Mouret, a French fashion designer. Today’s overstimulated environment leaves no mystery or allure, which can really affect us physically, emotionally, and romantically. “Every story is a mere mouse-click away.”

The women of Mouret’s collection were dower, wore black hoods and were enveloped in fabric. Mouret offered that in a busy and frenetic world people craved silence, wanting to be embraced and cocooned. At Elle, Ceroni calls it “monastic chic.”

Mood 2: Mad women

“Here, everything is about that polished, bourgeois dressing: cocktail dresses, tie-neck blouses, cat eye frames, and pointy pumps,” says Ceroni. Some designers, like Dolce & Gabbana, modernized the look by, for example, making a necklace into an iPod holder. “The model’s outfit may be very 50s inspired, conservative and quite lovely, but she’s still a cool chick rocking her iPod.”

Mood 3: Mood-less

Calvin Klein is Ceroni’s “King of Minimalism.” This utilitarian approach isn’t going anywhere. “Pared-down, simple sophistication resonates for so many women with its sculpted, clean lines. Any woman can wear this to look and feel confident and fashion-forward.”

Mood 4: C’est animal

Some women are into a conservative, clean look. Others want to rebel. Ceroni identifies with the latter and she often acts out wearing leather. “When you throw on that leather jacket and those tall boots, you feel like you own it and there’s something very empowering.”

Mood 5: Next, next?

Looking further into the future, Ceroni cited the Berlin-based illustrator who worked with Elle for their October 2010 issue, which predicted far-flung trends. “People are going to be really into birds in the years to come. Birds are symbols of life and beauty. There is so much artifice in our world, we’re seeing a re-focus on the importance of nature, which is being reflected in fashion trends and design. Birds will become a metaphor for freedom.

“It sounds a bit cooky, but it’s true,” says Ceroni before flying away.

Urban Capital Annual, Trends in Design, 2011

Lara Ceroni
On-line Editor, Elle Canada
Lara Ceroni is the senior editor for ElleCanada.com. She has been involved with the Elle Canada website since its launch in 2004 and oversees all editorial content that appears on the site, in addition to assuming the role of “host” for a multitude of ElleCanada.com videos which encompass exclusive industry events, as well as fashion and beauty launches.