At the end of a long season’s runways shows, international designers have given the fashion industry a superlative list of styles. One of the biggest styles to hit the runway this Fall season is something sweet, dainty and oh, so ladylike – bows galore. From neatly tied to fringed to beaded, bows in all sorts of shapes, sizes and varieties are popping up everywhere from, tops, sleeves to the shoulder of dresses. Statements bows were displayed in designs suited to any taste; the big bow game was strong while still remaining authentic. Tallying things up from the international influences, Indian exporters have got a high and are ready to mark this style for their new collection to prove how sexy showing off bows could be.
This season the bow has supplanted any delusion that it belongs exclusively in the Thatcher era or upon the twee heads of mawkish Disney characters. It’s no longer just an emblem for girlish style, instead having been revived in all manner of shapes, sizes and varieties to become the new ‘it’ embellishment for Fall 2017. In sync with the industry’s recent preoccupation with femininity – think dreamy ruffles and a spate of Victoriana inspired collections – this season beautiful bows combined the ethereal with the flamboyant.
Shoulder pee-ka-bow
One-shoulder tops and dresses saw a huge resurgence this season, thanks to the recent comeback of pretty bows. However, the bows were just not a decorative item. A continual strand of the fabric was tied on the shoulders creating gathered and ruffle like structured bows. Isabel Marant, shoulder bow style defined a knotted bow on a black satin mini dress glided with ruffles, while Alexiz Mabille played with big satin bow strands hailing till the waist. Moschino vamped a bow with a frill covering an arm and the other accentuating the shoulder with an embellished brooch entrancingly resting on the chest. Shalini Bisht, Director, Bits and Pieces, discussing the bow trend for Fall said, “The bow trend is visible but not only as an accessory; and for our Fall ’17 collection we have garments with statement bows, both on the short and long dresses. The satin strands are extending from one side of the shoulder of the dress that tie in a huge beautiful bow; these bows not only beautify the garment but add an elegant vibe to the dresses.
Bow-full-sleeves
For a unique arrangement, many sleeves seen on the runways had no other details except the bows interestingly clinging to the elbows, cuffs and other areas of the sleeves. Alexandre Vauthier added a delicate detail of big bows on an embellished sheer maxi dress providing a sensual appeal to the inner outerwear trend. Dolce and Gabbana took the stage adding fuller loose bows detailed with statement buttons to the cuff covering the entire wrist. Marni added a similar detail, giving a slight twist. These bows stayed fixed above the elbows, stretching firmly to the placement creating a puffy sleeve pattern extending from the elbow and getting wider and puffier at the wrist. Zakir Hussain, CEO, Cotfab, who is creating causal and formal shirts for women informs, “Bow add beauty to the garment. We have gone slightly different this time, by adding mocked and fixed bows on cap sleeved tops. Formal shirts too have subtle fancy bows on the cuffs with statement buttons. These small detailing have made the designs look versatile and preferable by the international markets.”
Bow blotch
Sidelining every other style, designers like Marc Jacobs, Viktor Rolf and Ronald Venderkemp chose to emphasize heavily on the bows! Sinfully intricate, translated mostly in duo colours, delicate and big bows were seen overlapped and ruffled on the garments. Few in gauzy organza tied up to look fluffy and large against the chest while some just bunched either on the waist or on the neck. Double bows appear at Viktor Rolf, again in gauzy net material against a transparent frilled dress, while feline print come into play with bunched tied up bows all over the dress at Ronald Venderkemp. Blingy big bows embellished with sequence appeared at Marc Jacobs, amusing the audience to no end. Puneet Rishi, Director, Aspiration Clothing sharing his thoughts on the same said, “Bows are on demand for international markets. There are bows in many of the designs. Following the trend from international runways, we are using bows in a similar fashion.
This time the bows have gone bigger, having the uncanny ability to evoke bold and vibrant look at the same moment. Then just as quickly it can be transformed into subtle and understated looks.
Pretty bow dress
Surprisingly bows found another perfect yet uncommon influence on Fall runways which no longer stayed restricted to a specific garment area; however the whole garment looked like a huge bow framed with intricate craftsmanship. Designers like Moschino, Maison Martin and Giambattista Valli decoded their tops and dresses with vivid folding and gathering styles. The gallant creations appeared like huge bows resting on the body. Mini bra tops were prudent on the runways declaring unique aesthetic appeal to the glamour, mini jacket by Maison Martin with centre knotting and ties clasped the hands to the body accentuating the silhouette of the garment!
Holding the bow style high for the season, exporters seem lured and are ready to use them irrespective of their sizes. Ravi Poddar, Director, Cheer Sagar concludes, “We are developing new range of designs in small bows which are still holding its significance in the garment. Arriving with the concept of everyday styling, bows are being used in a much more mature and elegant way in comparison to the archaic placements and sizes, which signified them only as an accessory.” Rounding up the queue of styles, it turns out to be evident that bows galore will remain as one of the most called-off style for the Fall collection.
