From what I see, a large part of fashion has been about rebelling against the rules - mismatched textures and prints, clashing colours and recently, experimenting with architectural structuring. So it's no wonder that the fashion pack is increasingly turning to the origin of rebel, the UK. The punks in the 70s were probably the first taste of pure Englishness, going against the conservatives with statement studs, leather and mohawks. But rebellion in the UK doesn't just mean punks. There were many examples where the British went against what was hip and created their own trend.
I'm drawing inspiration from the boys of the 90s Britpop scene - Noel Gallagher of Oasis with his Union Jack guitar; Graham Coxon of Blur with his large-framed glasses and Doc Martens; Jarvis Cocker of Pulp with his blazer jackets. While the world went crazy for Nirvana's brand of grunge, the Brits hit back with their own style of rock music. And then you start to suspect that perhaps the nautical colour pallette of red, navy and white could well come from the colours of the Union Jack; the increasing amount of women rocking fiery red hair could most probably be inspired by Dame Vivienne Westwood's mane; and those glasses...well, I'd like to think that Mr Coxon owned them way before today's scene kids even developed their eyes in their mothers' wombs.
But however it is, the UK continues to set the (fashion) bar themselves, instead of letting others do it for them. These days, the British are putting together trends from what the rest of the world has to offer - think bohemian prints complemented with preppy, tailored suits or clashing neon colours with textured pieces (thank you, Agyness!).
It's all just my personal opinion, though. But I think the English pride is back. And I love it.
(Images courtesy of
americanapparel.net,
net-a-porter.com,
topshop.com,
ninewest.com.au,
olsen-files.com,
sendmedeadflowers.com,
panicmanual.com,
flickr.com,
contactmusic.com,
celebutopia.net,
tpgnews.com and
elleuk.com)
Marc Jacobs red leather clutch. Classic but bold enough to brighten up any outfit.
Nicole Farhi chocolate vintage cracked leather bag. Understated chic.
Pierre Hardy navy suede and black patent bag. Fantastic detailing and pretty colour combination.
Temperley London large 'Trinity' clutch. Such unique detailing that it will turn drab outfit to fabulous style statement.
Christian Louboutin 'Babel' leather boots. Such a classically fine tailoring.
David David scarves. Loving the patterns and colours that will make any outfit look fresh.
Etro multi-coloured clutch bag. This is the piece that people would want to base their outfits on every single day.
Emilio Pucci printed scarf. Loving the contrast pastel colours on the rim with the block monochrome patterns.
Giorgio Armani red clutch. Fantastic texture, fantastic colour.
Alberta Ferretti thin green string detail belt. Such a perfect shade of green.
Alexander McQueen blue python metallic peep toe court shoe. A little 80s, a whole lot fierce.
Anya Hindmarch fuschia, tan and black 'Burton' clutch. Loving the colour combo on this little baby.
BOSS Black gold ring. Midas wouldn't want to turn this into any other colour when he wanted to reverse what he did.
Barbara Bui brown lace-up. Who would've thought berry and tan would look so good together?
