Fashion weeks over in Paris aren’t usually known for practical, everyday outfit tips, but by many accounts this year was something a little different.

That’s especially true if you fall into the category of ‘millenial’, with organisers going all out this year to capture the hearts and minds of the much sought after demographic.

The Sunday Times picked out a number of trends from this year’s event, which finished this past Sunday, starting off with what they call ‘The Young Ones‘:

The hoodie conquered all and skate kid chic was everywhere, with Japanese brand Facetasm going so far as to send its models out with what appeared to be fake acne.

The slogans that ran through The Etudes, Lanvin and Chinese brand Sankuanz shows were pure teen spirit, “Never mind”, “Nothing” and “Destroy”.

OK that doesn’t sound very practical, and we’re all about looking a little closer to home for inspiration.

In this neck of the woods we’re looking at a different kind of youth consciousness. Take for example local brand Magents and their “Bikonscious” range of t-shirts and hoodies.

A fashion revolution with a focus on sustainability and local fashion – no wonder Magents is resonating with so many ‘millenials’ here at home.

Next up from Paris is ‘Logos‘:

Not since the 1980s heydey of bling branding has fashion had such a fascination with logos.

Dior, Loewe, Balenciaga, Andrea Crews, Louis Vuitton, Icosae and even tastemaker in chief Dries Van Noten went logo a go-go.

There was less to smile about at Vuitton, where its collaboration with the super hip US street label Supreme had decidedly mixed reviews, with the New York Times calling it “the fashion version of a murder-suicide”.

Yoh, don’t hold back there guys.

Again we turn to local favourites Magents, who aren’t afraid to go big and bold with their graphics.

Then again, why wouldn’t they?

Amandla.

Despite the fact that this was the Paris Men’s Fashion Week there was no shortage of our female friends, with the Sunday Times dubbing one trend ‘Women Everywhere‘:

This was supposed to be men’s fashion week, but with so many women also on the catwalk you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise.

Mixed and gender-fluid shows have been a thing for a while, but now it has almost become the rule to have a few women models in men’s shows, much to the chagrin of some like Dior’s Van Assche who claims men’s clothes are losing definition.

I don’t see why anyone has a problem with using an item of clothing traditionally designed for the opposite sex – especially when you can make it look so good:

As our dear Minister of Sports might say – on fleek.

Apparently chilled out footwear was another big hit – here’s ‘Sneakers with everything‘:

Overall, however, informality was king — Paris being far too cool to be casual about anything. There was almost no formal wear at all…

Dress suits and evening wear appear to be over, trodden into the ground by the onward march of trainers, which were matched with everything from the couture heights of Dior to Balenciaga’s Frankenstein office suits to Vuitton, no longer a synonym for well-heeled where footwear is concerned anyway.

Fancy some kickass sneakers with a local twist? Boom.

Colours are in, so we hear, which is why you should be bold with your fashion statements.

There’s no harm in drawing ideas and inspiration from international fashion trends and designers, but we shouldn’t overlook the incredible strides being taken here at home by local fashion houses.

We’ll be keeping an eye on Magents and what they’re up to in the coming months. Who knows, maybe Paris and the likes will soon be taking notice of how we do things down south.

[source:sundaytimes]