The Ultimate Summer Fantasy

Dress How You Dream to Live
Compare and contrast, this season is a contradiction of the archetypal summer image. Close your eyes and picture a glorious summer’s day. What do you see – blooms of brightly coloured flowers dancing in the sun or the bold stripes of deckchairs on the beach and graphic lines of the Breton resort wear of the super chic jet set? 2011 spring/summer fashion is bringing your fantasy to life – it’s not about setting the perfect scene, it’s about wearing it!

Exotic Destinations
Get on board with Dior for a cruise around the South Pacific. Hawaiian prints, sarong-style dresses and flower garlands embrace a tropical flavour in fruity shades of orange, lime, pineapple yellow and fuchsia pink.

For more of the exotic, taste the Orient with Louis Vuitton. Eastern orchids and origami-like Iris’ patterned Cheongsam dresses and mandarin coats with opulent jewel shades adding a quirky, modern twist.

Flower Show
Get into a twenty-first century state of summer and look for florals with a graphic feel. At Jil Sander, Raf Simons took the English country garden and transformed floral snapshots into a kaleidoscopic maxi dress. While at Alexander McQueen, leafy garlands were transformed into Eastern dragons by computer-aided design.

For the feminine at heart, take the vintage approach. John Galliano prettied up Oriental motifs with soft, flowing chiffons and a 1920s flavour whilst Alberta Ferretti went for a wistful, woodland feel. Go one step further with playful D&G and mix pastel bouquets with oversized gingham checks – think picnic in the country side: sunny afternoons, English meadows and a skirt that would make the perfect picnic rug!

Carry On Chic
Looking for a sleeker way to make a statement? Stripes are your thing. Simple yet striking, they make a dynamic style statement.

Junya Watanabe played up the resort feel with lines of navy and white, a caricature almost of Coco Chanel holidaying at Deauville circa 1920-something. At Prada too, stripes were spliced with a sense of humour as Muiccia took us to Mexico. Bold blocks of crayon colours were paired with cartoonish prints of monkeys and bananas, striped, fur scarves and sombreros in contrasting rings of colour.

City Cool
At Jil Sander, the frenetic floral patterns contrasted strongly against a collection dominated by the bold simplicity of two colours alternating in geometric lines.

For that essence of summer refinement which stripes seem to epitomise look to Max Mara. In a collection of super-chic, minimal and easy-to-wear styles, black and white stripes created a focal point for the ultimate ‘I’ve just stepped off my yacht’ capsule wardrobe.

At Celine too, minimalist lines and a paired back colour palette heavy with white and cream, was lifted with streaks of orange, teal and royal blue – perfect for breathing a fresh, holiday feel into urban, work wear. And again for the city-slicker, Marc Jacobs has brought stripes to the streets of NYC. Simple, playful lines combine with a colour story of burnt orange, ivory and khaki giving the young at heart a taste of sophistication.