Trends from the fashion trade show

On August 8th and 9th, London hosted the Margin Trade Show, one of the hottest spots for up-and-coming and established designers to flaunt their wares. Despite reports that Margin was lacking in the visitors department due to the recent terrorist events, it was still busy with independent buyers looking for hot labels to keep their stores fresh and ahead of the competition. One of our London trend correspondents stopped by, and this is what she saw for Spring 2006:

FEMININE DETAILS: Using beading, embroidery, and feminine style lines, the girly aesthetic dominated. There were skirts and dresses from Sugarhill with circle embroidery and embellishments, ribbon trimmed skirts and soft lines. Galibardy’s collection had a very glamorous 70s traveler theme, featuring flowing gowns and tops with beautiful, beaded embellishments and sporty hoodies with floral stitching. Stereotype and Ground Zero have taken t-shirts to the next level by introducing a very tailored tee and deconstructed tank tops.

SKULLS/JESUS/BLING MIX-UP: There was a lot of crossover between these three themes, and many brands incorporated all three into their collections. Heidi Seekers mixed beading, butterfly and tattoo graphics with skulls, while Kontakt featured apparel sporting metallic foil logos as well as gold, bling-worthy logo pins. Ground Zero’s graphics were a mix of cultural icons and graffiti art featuring Jesus, JFK, skulls and The Rolling Stones. 3rd Born gave goth a feminine edge with pink skull prints mixed with roses.

ETHICAL TRADE AND RECYCLING: Also a strong theme at the February show, the number of socially responsible and earth-friendly brands has grown even more, whether it be through recycling old fabrics, using fair-trade methods to produce or working with organic fabrics. Enamore’s hemp and vintage fabric mix featured beautiful design details. Rebe mixed vintage and new fabrics with lace to create a modern 50s style collection. Glo for Life sourced only fair trade t-shirts for their collection and Lady Luck Rules featured a quirky jewelry line made from recycled badges, buttons, old jewelry and trinkets.