Fashion Climate of 2010 with New Trends (II)
Brand America
The heritage chic trend that gave us 2009 phenomena such as Florsheim by Duckie Brown’s star-spangled Patriot Boot, and Pendleton’s collaborations with Hurley and Opening Ceremony, is ripe to broaden into a global appetite for “brand America.”
In addition to more advertisements that emphasize the hardworking, can-do spirit, industrial fortitude, and pick-ourselves-up-by-our-own-bootstraps message (see Levi’s “Go Forth” campaign), look for European designers to partner with some of the most revered of American brands.
At the Paris spring/summer 2010 men’s runway shows, the trademark Red Tab of Levi Strauss & Co. could be spotted in the collections of Rick Owens, Junya Watanabe Man and Jean Paul Gaultier, who added his signature maritime stripes and bondage straps motifs to the traditional 501 silhouette, as well as a classic-looking trucker’s jacket with the front panels cut out so that it resembled a bondage harness.
And for the first time, Emporio Armani, the lower-priced line from Giorgio Armani’s Milan-based fashion empire, is making jeans in the United States. The company recently announced that four new styles (two for men and two for women) for spring/summer 2010 are being made in downtown Los Angeles. Touted as “the refinement of the Armani brand with an original interpretation of the authentic vintage American look,” they bear a distinct stars-and-stripes vibe that’s reflected in special hangtags, brushed white enamel rivets and red, white and blue leather labels.
Denim’s not the only department either; Italian label Missoni has partnered with another venerable American brand – the 101-year-old Converse company – to make 0 versions of the