SS15 Prints For Every Taste
Although your all-black-everything uniform has probably been second to none this winter, as the weather brightens up (albeit it slowly), it’s time to inject some colour back into your day wear.
There’s a knack to introducing brights into a previously monochrome wardrobe though. It’s a fine line between adding a pop of colour and looking like a walking back catalogue of Pantone’s colour of the year (2015’s shade of choice is Marsala, by the way). So, take things easy, start off with a little and work your way up.
Layering printed garments under solid muted staples (think outerwear or knitwear) will help control a particularly vivid motif, or you could try setting a statement piece set against a dark backdrop to really let it shine. Print doesn’t have to be a shock to the system; start working individual items in now to build confidence and get you ready for the warmer months ahead.
But where should you be looking for these printed pieces? To steer you in the right direction, we’ve listed six high fashion brands that are renowned for their use of prints and colour, along with their stand-out motif for SS15:
Hentsch Man SS15 – Florals
This Brit label is bridging the gap between streetwear and contemporary menswear.
Taking jungle wallpaper to task, Hentsch Man’s ‘La Cantina’ collection for spring/summer 2015 sampled a bit of fauna in a bold way. Ideal for nailing the season’s big floral trend.
Moschino SS15 – Diet Coke x Welch Grape Juice
Jeremy Scott’s mind-bending mash-up of Diet Coke cans and Welch’s grape juice Tetra Paks for Moschino SS15 will be way too much for a prints newbie.
Scott has only a handful of collections under his belt at the helm of the designer label, but this surfeited spectacle is right in line with his regular antics at his namesake brand.
One for the OTT consumer – and with tongue firmly planted in cheek – this is definitely what people refer to when they use the term ‘statement piece’. Would you dare to wear?
Hunter Gatherer SS15 – Soul-Boy Print
Creative Director David Bradshaw continues to blur the lines between high and low art, with a nod to both French artist Matisse’s famed cut-outs and American artist Keith Haring’s multi-coloured prints.
Hunter Gatherer’s Soul-boy silhouettes for SS15 laid the groundwork for something both interesting and rare: a chance for fashion to not take itself so seriously.
Acne SS15 – Stars & Stripes
Especially for the modern-day rebel, Acne’s SS15 oversized T-shirt with graffiti stars gives off some serious old-school attitude without having to illegally vandalise public property. Elsewhere, the blue chambray shirt with thick green block-stripes references the season’s key colour combination and gives a contemporary twist to a classic motif.
It’s not often Jonny Johansson, the brand’s Creative Director and Co-Founder, weaves prints into Acne’s normally staple-heavy collection – he did it subtly in AW14 with the crafty camouflage black marker shirt (now on sale) – but when he does, he does it so well.
A Bathing Ape SS15 – Hybrid Prints
Building on their ethos of playful streetwear, A Bathing Ape’s SS15 collection oozes effortless cool and is ideal for casual dressers.
Blending a rainbow camo print with solid squares for their patchwork coat and shorts set, BAPE offers a more streetwear-focused take on the 1970s trend. Elsewhere, a polka dot/floral hybrid print has been applied to a lightweight rain coat and sweatshirt – both of which would make a solid addition to any off-duty wardrobe.
Topman Design SS15 – Vintage Florals
Using 1970s Woodstock as his inspiration for the collection, Topman Design’s Gordon Richardson sent everything from waxy sunflower shirts to intricate berry print outerwear down the SS15 runways.
Giving a vintage spin to the ever-popular floral print trend, these oversized blooms are sure to get you noticed when the weather picks up.
