Last year we wrote an article about forecasting trends and focused on the huge comeback of tie-dye. People doubted us but we slowly started to see it resurface and now we can’t stop seeing it everywhere! Even with quarantine putting a hold on our going out attire, tie dye is holding strong as the go to pattern for loungewear.
Brunello Cucinelli’s name has been popping up everywhere. If you love the finer things in life than you’ve probably heard his name before. For most, the name might have been dismissed due to the high costs of his luxury ready-to-wear fashion line. For reference, four Louis Vuitton Neverfull MM bags are much more affordable than the average price of a Cucinelli suit.
A little background… He was born near Solomeo in 1953, and grew up in a house with no plumbing or electricity. He had no money when he started his business. In an interview recently he said, “We were farmers, so I did not have even a dollar in my pocket.”
He has an interesting background as he was raised in poverty and grew up to design for the rich and become wealthy himself. But what is the most impactful about his story is the mission of his company and the treatment of his employees – “To produce fashion in the most ethical way possible, without being harmful or disrespectful towards people or the environment.”
The Cucinelli fashion house is more than a company appreciating their employees. He has compassion for his workers which comes from when he was a little boy and how he saw his father was treated everyday at work. Cucinelli calls all of this a “humanistic enterprise in the world of industry.”
His philosophy on overtime – it’s forbidden. Working after 5:30 pm is not allowed as he believes that working too many hours will “steal your soul.” He advocates a balance of “mind, soul and work.” And so, at precisely 1 pm every day, the entire workforce heads to the company dining hall for a mandatory 90 minute lunch.
He donates 20% of his profits through the Brunello Cucinelli Foundation. He has been described as a “philosopher-designer” and “part businessman, part philosopher and part monk.” His belief and mindset is to act as guardians of creation.
No matter how laid-back and serene the label’s style appears, there’s always a luxurious edge to it. Cucinelli said, “For me, it’s always synonymous with excellence: supreme quality, perfect execution, and exquisite artisanal craftsmanship.
Not only are there more billionaires now than at any time in history, but they are richer than ever before. Almost from the start of his career, Cucinelli decided they would be his clientele. Maybe this is the secret to how he made the Forbes list. The rich understand the rich. Cucinelli’s brand has worked out very well and he has said, “The results have actually been more positive than I thought”.
“I was told that everybody was going to be tough on me. We’ve had a very positive ride so far.”
It’s here! It’s here! Vogue has published their list of trends for Spring/Summer 2019. As Anna Wintour and Vogue editors have carefully selected their favorite looks from fashion week to dictate the trends for the season, tie dye has made the cut for the top 12.
As Nostalgia was the biggest fashion trend of 2018 and The Met Gala’s theme was Camp, it should be no surprise tie dye has circulated back and onto the runway. It truly exploded when Kaia Gerber wore a denim tie-dye boiler suit for Stella McCartney on the Paris catwalk. This caught the eye of fashion forecasters and we began to see this psychedelic pattern pop up in almost every designers collection. No longer solely the style of art teachers and ageing hippies, as tie-dye has returned and become fashion forward. The appeal of this pattern to designers is the symbol of individualism it conveys which is something that can be lacking in fashion these days.
As bloggers and editor’s say tie dye was a dead trend since it’s hippie days, let’s not forget about it’s moment in 2009 when Blumarine revamped the eye-popping print to create a glitzy hippie look. Blumarine redid tie dye the right way but why didn’t it take off then? 2009 was the was the moment camouflage hit runways. Olive and green prints out shined tie dye.
Here we are 10 years later and tie dye is trendy again but this time around it has not been revamped from it’s 70’s look with CMYK colours. We can rummage through our mother’s closet and hope she saved her shirts because today they are completely overpriced. Stella McCartney’s simple tie dye t-shirt retails for $385.
“Stella McCartney’s catwalk show had some of the best iterations – cotton boiler suits and easy-to-wear T-shirts that look like melted Neapolitan ice cream. Miuccia Prada did prim dresses with big pinches of neon colour and Prabal Gurung developed burst-dyed wrap skirts that brought to my mind, in a good way.” – By Caroline Leaper, acting senior fashion editor
From runway to the street, here’s how to add a little haute hippy chic to your own style. First off, please do not pair a Ben&Jerry’s t-shirt with some cutoffs. We think you can do better. (Yes, this was said with a very snobby tone.) In our eyes, to capture this 2019 trend we must go back another 10 years to the exuberance of Blumarine as it captures the Southern European attitude. They are an Italian fashion house creating garments perfect for holidaying in the sun. Blumarine’s tie dye that debuted on Edita Vilkeviciute in 2009 is so much more wearable than today’s tie dye trend.
The Pineapple Life 