Fashion Inspiration: Nomad Chic

When a trend hits the runways it takes a year or two for the ideas to trickle down into the wardrobes of us ordinary people. A lot of work is required for mainstream designers to interpret and filter the in-your-face looks that haute couture houses can get away with.

Some trends are more difficult than others to humanize for the masses, and Nomad Chic is one that will be hard for the everyday woman to pull-off.

How do I explain this one? The idea is derived from an almost biblical time period. Vast stretches of desert span before us and food is so scarce we can never stop moving forward in search of it. To achieve this constant journey everything we own must be worn on our own backs. 

Our extensive travels have exposed us to all of the most luxurious goods and textiles that exist, and we revel in the endless combinations we can achieve by mixing and matching treasures from so many different cultures. We are warriors if need be, because we are sometimes not wanted in the the territory we invade.

Animal skins and fur play with kilim inspired prints and natural linens. Accessories pile on; head wraps, extravagant bangles and belts. Layer upon layer of pattern and texture produce the kind of editorial friendly look, that will make you look just plain homeless (instead of romantically nomadic) if you were to attempt to wear it on the street. Well, the photos are still beautiful.....

 

 

In the Mood for Mod

mod n (Sociology) Brit:
-An unconventionally modern style of fashionable dress originating in England in the 1960s

-A member of a group of teenagers in the mid-1960s, noted for their clothes-consciousness and opposition to the rockers

Mod was Post-Beatnik, Pre-Hippy, and quintessentially British. Mods admired all things Italian and were attracted to whatever seemed most "modern" (hence the name). Op-art inspired textiles in graphic geometrics and a strict Mondrian-like palette of black, white and primaries were the trends. British designer Mary Quant invented both the mini skirt and the hot pant, while Rudy Gernreich and Pierre Cardin provided abstract shapes and silhouettes for the first Space-Age generation.

Like all big fashion trends Mod was inextricably linked to its own music (ska, Brit-beat, American R & B and soul), dance crazes (there was often speed-fueled, all-night clubbing), television (such as "Ready Steady Go!" a British music program that exposed England and the world to acts like Manfred Mann), and transportation preferences (Vespa scooters were choice, with, inexplicably, as many mirrors as was possible to attach to them - sometimes as many as 30).

By the late 60's the Mod's subculture had been co-opted by the mainstream media for profit, and the whole thing lost its cachet. An odd offshoot of the mod/ ska sector evolved into skinheads in Britain, and are sometimes associated with Mod due to a shared fondness for peg-leg pants and short hair (both uncharacteristic at the time for young people)....but they are not really philosophically related.


For me, Mod represents a time of simultaneous exploration and restraint in fashion. How "out there" could one get using only black and white and the two basic shapes of skinny legging and A-line dress? Ok, you can only use circles and squares - now, go design! I also love how this sleek, modernistic look was paired with rebellion and soul music. The 60's were just the craziest time for teenagers to figure out who they were outside of their post-war parents and grand-parents still gun-shy from the depression, while simultaneously trying to grasp new ideas of plastics, rocketships and robots.

 Eyewear and Apparel by Pierre Cardin

Judging by the shoes in this photo, this is probably taken recently (I just can't find the info on the pic), but shoes aside, the feeling's 100% Mod.

Muse Model Peggy Moffit in Rudy Gernreich

 

Moffit Wanna-bes 

60's icon Twiggy

Diana Rigg, as Emma Peel, influenced the Brits with her fashion-forward wardrobe for five years before "The Avengers" ever even aired in the US (in 1966).

You've probably noted by now that this seems to be the preferred stance for serious Mods.

Still from the film "Quadraphenia", based on The Who's rock operetic homage to 1964 London. (Note the six mirrors on his scooter.)

The Chocolate Watchmen

 

Goldie Hawn in sock-it-to-me mode. Ok, I know "Laugh-in" was a little late to be mod (and much too commercial to be cool) but something about her here speaks to the underlying idea....and what I really want to show is next.....

 

Mattel issued a limited edition Sock-it-to-me Goldie Barbie - is this not the coolest, cutest thing you have EVER seen? Amazing! Sometimes the world makes good things.

Dickensian Style

Sometimes I have an idea for a genre of fashion or design inspiration that I want to highlight and explore...and find out it only exists in my own head.
After seeing a live production of "A Christmas Carol" with my kids, I was inspired by Dickensian style.
I Googled "Dickensian Style/ fashion/ inspiration/ photography" and found almost nothing! So maybe the literature and era of Dickens isn't something many designers derive inspiration from, but why?
Dickensian Style to me references mid 19th century England, top hats and tweed, Gothily ragged hems, floppy muslin shirts and under skirts, layers of browns and blacks and greys all tinged with coal smoke and industrial revolution ennui.
It's Steampunk's depressed cousin. It conjures up images of orphans and harsh mistresses, debtor's prison, street children and corrupted miserly landlords.
Well, anyway, the only cooperative designer was my dearly departed Alexander McQueen (as per usual). Before his death I hadn't realized the depth and breadth of his legacy. He always comes through; no matter what I've been inspired by....he's been inspired first.