Will fashion as we know it remain relevant?

As we head into the spring of 2021, we cannot help but reflect on the past year. How will things look different going forward? Will fashion as we know it remain relevant? As Dries Van Noten so eloquently said, “I think we’ve passed the stage of pretending. We’ve all gone through something really not nice together. There’s kind of a rawness and directness also—it’s real movements, it’s real emotions.” None of us will come away from our collective experience during the global pandemic the same person we were before it began.

What do we predict that people will be wearing going forward? As we turned to our clothes as a way to comfort our souls, reaching for cashmere sweatsuit sets and silk pajamas as daywear, we will now reach for new pieces as we venture back out into the world.

The metaphor of rebirth in life as flowers begin to bloom in spring is an especially profound one this year. Our clothing choices will support this as well, with luscious, joyful colors in beautiful silks, as seen at Valentino and a resurgence of florals as well, at Oscar de la Renta and Carolina Herrera among others, and knitwear will continue as a major trend, as seen at Altuzarra and many other labels.

The big takeaway for fashion from this last year will be melding comfort with style. Casting off the pieces that cocooned us in our hibernation, and dressing in clothes that make us feel exuberant. 

As a personal stylist, I am busier than I have ever been with all the weddings that have been postponed for a year and are now rescheduled for this spring, summer and fall, in addition to all the new engagements that are occurring daily. Gorgeous pieces from Oscar de la Renta, Markarian and Zimmerman will help me dress these brides and their mothers and future mother-in-law‘s.

Will this be an “epic” summer and fall as predicted by many?

The Style That Binds Us team certainly hopes so! We look forward to getting out and about, maybe in a more thoughtful way than before, and enjoying the breezy, magical, precious days and moon-washed nights of spring and summer that leave you breathless. We will have a new appreciation for how truly magnificent life is. We look forward to glorious, cloudless blue – sky mornings and simple pleasures that fill our hearts with gratitude for what we have, not what we’ve lost.

Here are some of our favorite looks to welcome spring in style!