The New Markets Enjoy Decent Fashion Designs

 London Fashion Week | Reuters.com
London Fashion Week | Reuters.com
TT
20

The New Markets Enjoy Decent Fashion Designs

 London Fashion Week | Reuters.com
London Fashion Week | Reuters.com

There are certain fashion designs that surprise us and make us question whether they were inspired by a personal concept of fashion or designed in favor of a certain environment that shall be promoted in the coming 6 months. Long sleeve dresses, high necklines, long skirts with scarves, hats, and turbans that cover the head might merely be an idea inspired by the designer after a movie or a romantic novel, or they might also be a concept that carries out whole cultural and ethnic features imposed by markets and customers that enjoy remarkable purchasing power.

In all cases, the consumer is the first benefiter in general. Over the past years, runways have been overshadowed with designs that are both decent and elegant with eastern inspirations that sometimes focus on rich fabrics and other times on ethnic prints and embroideries.

Designers expound that time has changed and the concept of attraction has changed with it and thus no longer concentrates on revealing body charms. As a matter of fact today, attraction is based on intellect and culture. Although it seems the new concept flatters the East, and particularly Arab women, it has succeeded in attracting women from all over the world regardless of their nationalities.

Ten years ago, Channel’s designer, Karl Lagerfeld said that fashion is part of people and all ongoing events around the world; pointing to the incidents taking place in the Middle East. Years have passed and many collections were introduced by different designers who adopted and reflected the same “decent” spirit, however some of them only aimed at achieving financial profits by introducing typical and stereotyped attires that lacked uniqueness and did not fully respond to the demands of modern conservative women.

Valentino, which is partially owned by the Qatari firm “Mayhoola for Investments”, was the best in embodying the trend of decent fashion and in introducing designs that feature femininity as an equivalent concept of attraction. Obviously, the new fashion styles have served the Arab woman’s taste, as it showed that femininity doesn’t mean the revelation of body charms and body details.

Professor Reina Lewis from London College of Fashion (LCF) implemented many researches in this field and discovered that decent designs were increasingly spreading among the young generation regardless of factors like religion, ethnicity, and nationality.

Lewis also found that young ladies are imposing their styles in the market, like the Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton, who insisted from the beginning on waiving seduction and choosing a classic elegant style, including her royal wedding dress and attires she chose in her official appearances.

Designers say that the success and self-esteem of the modern women, who don’t feel that they need to reveal their body charms to fulfill their ambitions, has encouraged them on adopting this style in their lines. They add that while women in the past used to wear revealing attires to feel appreciated and attractive, the new generation insists on choosing comfortable and flexible clothes to wear.
Jamila Halfichi



Dior Appoints Jonathan Anderson as Design Chief for Women’s Wear and Haute Couture 

A security guard looks out from the store of French luxury goods company Dior on 5th Avenue in New York City, US, May 23, 2025. (Reuters)
A security guard looks out from the store of French luxury goods company Dior on 5th Avenue in New York City, US, May 23, 2025. (Reuters)
TT
20

Dior Appoints Jonathan Anderson as Design Chief for Women’s Wear and Haute Couture 

A security guard looks out from the store of French luxury goods company Dior on 5th Avenue in New York City, US, May 23, 2025. (Reuters)
A security guard looks out from the store of French luxury goods company Dior on 5th Avenue in New York City, US, May 23, 2025. (Reuters)

Dior is appointing its menswear designer Jonathan Anderson to also head womenswear designs and haute couture, replacing Maria Grazia Chiuri and widening his role as it seeks to reignite sales, the LVMH-owned label said on Monday.

"Jonathan Anderson is one of the greatest creative talents of his generation. Its unique artistic signature will be a key asset for writing the next chapter of the Dior house's history," LVMH CEO Bernard Arnault said in a statement.

The French fashion house named Anderson, 40, in April as head of menswear designs, recruiting him from smaller LVMH label Loewe.

The award-winning Irish designer generated buzz around Loewe over the decade he spent at the Spanish label, thanks to quirky designs that caught the attention and praise of fashion critics.

Signature styles under his tenure include baggy, barrel-legged jeans priced at 800 euros ($909.92) and the compact Puzzle handbag, which sells for around 3,000 euros.

Anderson, whose departure from Loewe was announced in March, is one of several new high profile designers taking over some of the world's biggest fashion labels amid a wide-sweeping industry overhaul, including Chanel and Gucci.

The sector is struggling to pull out of a prolonged slump, weighed down by China's property crisis and economic uncertainty in the United States.

Top luxury houses are betting on new design direction to help rekindle interest from shoppers, who have pulled back on fashion as prices rise.

In his new role, Anderson succeeds Chiuri, 61, who was recruited in 2016. The first female creative director at the label, Chiuri relayed feminist messages and showcased artwork at her runway shows, which featured modern renditions of house classics, including Dior's famous, nipped-waist bar jackets, adding fluidity and sometimes a sporty flair to feminine gowns.