Best of 2014: top style picks for the new year

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WORDS ISSY THOMPSON

1.   Designer Collaborations

2013 was the year of the high-street, boasting an assortment of designer collaborations — namely Isabel Marant’s collection for H&M.  2014 is set to capitalise upon this trend for accessible, affordable chic. In February, Target launches its collaboration with Peter Pilotto, selling his famed prints at wildly discounted prices. Shoe designer, Sophia Webster, known for her colourful, playful take on footwear, is teaming up with J-Crew to release a capsule collection in the spring. In April, Kate Moss returns to Topshop to launch her highly anticipated collection, which will be based on items from Moss’s own wardrobe.

 

2.   The opening of the Cos flagship store

At the end of last year, it was announced that Tower Records would be moving from its site on Wicklow Street to make way for the impending arrival of Scandinavian super-brand, Cos, which is opening its flagship store in Dublin. Previously only stocked in bt2 and Dundrum, the sharp silhouettes and clean lines for which Cos is so famous will soon be widely available, diversifying and modernising the style that is currently available in Dublin.

3. Africa Fashion Weekend

Africa Fashion Weekend returns to Dublin on the 24th, 25th and 26th April. Founded in 2009, the Weekend aims to showcase African design in a European context, seeking to celebrate renowned African designers, and to create networks that will facilitate and maintain their growth on an international scale. This year the event will be particularly relevant considering the recent spotlight focused upon the problem of racism and elitism in the fashion industry. The event is open to the public, and it is possible to sign up to ticket alerts on the Facebook page.

4. Whistles Launch Menswear Collection

Famed for its sharply sophisticated aesthetic, Whistles has been dressing high-end, high street female shoppers with aplomb for years. Now the brand has revealed it is expanding into Menswear, debuting its collection at London Fashion Week. “Menswear is something we have been planning to do since we started in 2008,” explains Whistles CEO, Jane Shepherdson, “We recognise that, as with womenswear, there is a considerable expansion in the contemporary middle market, this is an ideal time to capitalise on this opportunity and bring the Whistles aesthetic to menswear.” Expect sharp tailoring, leather and fine knits.

 

5. A focus on the life of Yves Saint Laurent

Following 2013’s successful re-branding of the flagging French Brand, Yves Saint Laurent, two films are to be released documenting the life and career of the provocative and tormented French designer. Born in 1936 and raised in Algeria, Saint Laurent moved to Paris at seventeen, where his drawings were published immediately in Vogue. Saint Laurent worked for Dior, Alber Elbaz, and created his own fashion house, which introduced the sheer blouse, the jumpsuit, and ‘le smoking,’ his famous smoking suit. He died in 2008 after a long illness, but his message still lives on, that “dressing is a way of life.” These two biopics seek to explore his world, documenting his relationships, influences and passions, to provide an insight into a designer who irrevocably changed the way that we dress.

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