Top Trend: Stripes

It’s time to earn your sartorial stripes! Bold lines and rainbow ridges are the stars of the summer and stripes are now one of the most reliable prints in the industry. They have become a mainstay in the fashion conversation and are reworked season after season by leading designers in a wide variety of bandwidths, slants and color ways. All of these original approaches clearly underline why stripes are now an evergreen graphic clothing choice.   Here we have put together an overview of how this summer’s options will have women lining up in the streets to get their stripe on. Starting with Miu Miu’s  70’s inspired banded trench – whose graphic and hypnotic pinstripes has some serious vintage flavor.

Marques Almeida                                                 Ports 1961                                        Missoni

For a sea-worthy look inspired by the classic breton sweater, stick to stripes in primary colors and look to Marques Almeida and Ports 1961 for style inspirations. The designer duo Paulo Almeida and Marta Marques took a classic masculine shirt (stolen from a boyfriend) and turned it into a cool and sexy oversized dress patterned by thick yellow stripes. At Ports 1961, thinner blue lines had a pajama-esque feel on a long shirt and flowing pants. To balance the bare feet and the relaxed nature of this look, designer Natasa Cagalj twisted the shirt’s sleeves and created the illusion of a chic cape. Now it would be outrageous to write this trend piece without mentioning Missoni’s legendary stripes – though this summer the Italian house surprised us all with some smart color-blocking and layering. Using a red sweater tied around the waist to add an extra stripe to an already pretty colorful outfit, a fun and off the wall way to revisit their classic lines.

Proenza Schouler                                         Adam Selman                                     Fendi

Stripes don’t necessarily have to walk a straight and narrow path. At Proenza Schouler, clashing lines are artfully asymmetric and come in form of a bodycon dress finished off by some black fur and paired with graphic platform shoes. Off the same stripes, Adam Selman presented a beachy long strappy dress made out of fringes and wavy ridges, a beautifully bohemian style ideal for long summer days.

Last but certainly not least, Fendi tag teamed vertical and horizontal stripes to create graphic lines in both pants and sweaters that resulted in full-on 80’s looks. The contrast between a flamboyant red cropped top with thin black lines against the big black and white bands on the baggy pants the top was paired with it was visually striking.  Oh and if you were wondering if exposed underboob was still a thing, Karl Lagerfeld confirmed with this look,  that it is. The iconic designer took the stripe trend one step further by playing with fabrics and cuts. Adding a complementary stripe of fabric to cover the abs and mark the waste.

So it’s time to draw a line in the sand and decide you will no longer allow your summer wardrobe to be stripe free. Whether you want to awaken the sailor, the hippie or the disco queen in you, this trend will allow you to show your true stripes.