Stahl looks into its crystal ball
The leather chemicals producer, Stahl, has predicted the in-fashion colours for autumn/winter 2003/2004 will be drawn from the everyday surroundings of ‘nature and the home’.
These are categorised into five separate groups:
‘Untouched’ colours identify gentler, paler tones ranging from ivory white through pale greys to sand and beige. They create a gentle, ethereal feel yet exude warmth and comfort. In the home soft bedroom sateens and matt silk draped with soft cashmere and fleece and handmade paper decoration, Boucle yarns and ecru knits.
‘Integrity’ indicates a raw reality, differing from modern synthesis and technology. Natural materials are to the fore, and colours are earth, bark, honey, granite, maple, chalk and flesh. Materials such as muslin and veiled gossamer suggest a simple and unfinished beauty.
‘Sombre’ is more spartan and raw, a darker range of colours vivid yet restrained. Colours range from tar black through slate grey, deep and paler purples and petrel green. The look for clothing is formal and rigid, with a dark iridescent lustre. Patterns may be surreal, combining mysterious trompe l’oeil with the bizarre.
The ‘Sweet’ group implies lighter and brighter hues, with vintage charm and the feel of childhood. Colours are those of the fields - wild flowers in faded cornflower, gentle yellows, dusky pinks and pot-pourri lilacs contrasting with deeper blues, greens and mineral reds. In fashion terms, lace skirts with cardigans, embroidery, macrame, needlepoint carpet bags and bridesmaids shoes are all central. The overall feel is of time gone by- jam-making ang gingham, jugs with folksy handles, painted floral decorations, tea cosies and patchwork quilts.
Finally ‘grandeur’, as the name suggests, is indicative of rich, ornate and sumptuous colours such as cochineal red, frosted pink and eau de nil with backgrounds of greys and mahoganies. Floor length skirts in damask, exotic prints and other grand decadence combine to produce melodramatic clothes which are both frivolous and a touch puritanical. Home feel is suggestive of the salon, with antique bevelled mirrors and flocked wallpapers. Satins, jacquards and aged wood are common, and elements of Kenya safari, the thrift shop and ironic past decadence abound. Overall, gentle simplicity mixed with high drama.
