Issue link: https://www.balharbourdigital.com/i/262375
This season's strongest looks haven't been designed around a leg-baring skirt length or a brand-new silhouette. Instead, the focus is on impactful prints, typically with a tribal feel that suggests a trip to an African bazaar or crowded Moroccan souk. Used on everything from boxy, cropped tops to sleek eveningwear, these patterns, sometimes bedecked with feathers or beads, have been reinterpreted to be surprisingly wearable—transformed with fluid fabrics and accessible shapes. Sarah Burton's Spring collection for Alexander McQueen exemplifies the trend, with flippy skirts and day dresses in a laser- cut ethnic print and separates in a red, white and cobalt pattern reminiscent of a hand-woven basket. The line's accessories also pick up the theme, with bags and shoes embellished with zebra-like black stripes on white, or a black and red Masai print. And the trend is prevalent across the board right now, in clothing from lines like Proenza Schouler and Etro and bags from designers like Marc Jacobs, Tory Burch and Phillip Lim, who adorned his trademark Pashli bag this season with an abstract print in green-and-black haircalf. "Everyone's completely gone rogue with it," says celebrity stylist June Ambrose. "Designers are being very clever with the prints in terms of their placement and mixing the media. It's really allowing the consumer to be a little bit more creative and not afraid to put things together. It's very refreshing because it's being revamped in a way that has a little more imagination." In their unfussy color palette and clean styles, this season's tribal looks make a sort of controlled fashion statement—it's on trend, but doesn't go over the top. For those looking for an even softer expression of the trend, structured Zulu-inspired print bags or brightly patterned ladylike pumps offer a refined counterpoint to, say, a little black dress. "Seeing the trend interpreted in different ways allows you to find your personality and your own personal style within it." 54 BAL HARBOUR CALL OF THE WILD From clothing to accessories, tribal prints dominate the season with Alexander McQueen leading the pack. BY RACHEL FELDER Alexander McQueen's feather-print De Manta clutch and looks from the Spring 2014 collection