One of my favorite things about living in the Northeast is the incredible Fall foliage that starts to pop end of September. It’s dreamy for all of us that get a rush from color.  The other thing that positively charges my transition from Summer to Fall is FABULOUS FALL FASHION!  Invited by Westchester Home Magazine to share my favorite fashion to decor trimmings, I had more purpose than usual to research the runways.  For those of you who don’t live near NYC, the digital version of my article is here>> Fashion Forward.  Additionally, in this post, I’m sharing my study, inspiration and love for the exquisite embellishments that are trending this season.

FASHION FORWARD

After a long dry spell from frills, embellishments have re-emerged on the design scene, signaling economic recovery with the desire to decorate. These details, overscaled, graphic or used en masse, express individuality writ large. Whichever decorative style you curate, in your dress or in your home, it is sure to garner attention from your family, friends and/or followers, because these modern embellishments have something in common: they’re camera-ready, an essential for ecommerce and social media sharing.  2016 has emerged as a year for exuberant expression through unexpected fabrications.  Here’s an overview.

PATCHES: old school redux

Historically, patches have proffered identity, signified rank, noted accomplishments, showed team allegiance, or even flaunted places traveled. This season’s designers have taken this embellishment and given us non-ranking folk a way to distinguish ourselves: retro, artsy, clever, exotic, sporty or noble.  These patches aren’t earned but bought, and not as presumptuously as procuring a royal title.

EMBROIDERY & FLOWERS: handcraft meets tech

Once the technique used to mend or tailor fabrics, embroidery stitches evolved from utilitarian beginnings to impressive decorative needlework. This trend aligns with the rise of the artisan, the appreciation of craft, and the maker movement.  It also exemplifies the very 21st-century meeting of handcrafted with technology, the subject of Manus X Machina, the acclaimed exhibit at The Costume Institute at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Whether using yarn, sequins, beads, or gold thread to stitch designs of flora or fauna by hand, machine, or both, these embroidered designs pop dimensionally from the textile. When done on a patterned fabric, the design mash-up is especially eye-catching and in vogue.

Whether using yarn, sequins, beads, or gold thread to stitch designs of flora or fauna by hand, machine, or both, these embroidered designs pop dimensionally from the textile. When done on a patterned fabric, the design mash-up is especially eye-catching and in vogue.

PASSEMENTERIE: a status symbol returns

Literally meaning “to turn by hand,” passementerie is the art of manipulating braid and ribbon into dimensional ornament. Passementerie has decorated royal interiors, costume, and military uniforms as frog closures, epaulettes, belts, tassels and tiebacks, signifying rank, status and power since the guild of the Passementiers was created in 16th-century France.  The new translation of this art form conveys status too, as one must be able to afford this handcraft.  Much of the passementerie on Balmain’s Fall runway had a military vibe, and designer Olivier Rousteing cleverly christened his models, and fans, #Balmain Army.

TASSELS & FRINGE: the unstoppable trend

We’ve seen tassels and fringe go from couture to ready-to-wear to mass market and DIY; this trend seems unstoppable.  Its versatility to convey mood —sleek yarns for chic, chunky yarns for crafty — and its playfulness of movement, keep it swinging at the top. Designers continue to find new ways to use it, infatuated with its texture, length and application, fabricating every which way: vertically, horizontally, diagonally, sheathed or layered.  Plus, it’s sexy and that always gives a trend some legs.

In addition to being photogenic, all these embellishments share a nostalgic edge, modern interpretations of things familiar. Perhaps in these uncertain times of change, decorating has become an act of sentimentality that we are eager to wear on our sleeve, or sofa.

I hope you got some Fall Fashion inspiration from this post and if you have an embellished ensemble you’re proud of, please send to me @TrimQueen #TrimQueen

You know I LOVE to share your creativity whether in your home design or fun with fashion.

In creative harmony,