I never thought I would write this, but be prepared as Fall 2011/12 is set to be the Fall of the Granny. Let’s hope she doesn’t hurt herself. I noticed several trends for Fall/Winter, but obviously I had to write about the Granny Blanket / Afghan Blanket / Crochet trend first because it is both totally absurd and complete genius. We’ve had the ladylike chic, we’ve had the Thatcher-like austerity, so the next logical step had to be Nana chic.
But put away your support stockings, we are of course talking about a very tongue-in-cheek nana, especially when thrown on the runway by Henry Holland. While his use of colourful tweeds and clashing hosiery put a wide smile on my face, it was his take on the crochet blanket that won me over completely. No real crochet here, instead he used a photographic print and slapped it on a cute plastic trench coat. He went even further and encrusted it with diamanté and turned it into a totally adorable party dress. Did you ever think you’d see an Afghan blanket as totally adorable? Me neither.
Photos Style.com – for some reason my photos of these outfits were all blurred
After the House of Holland show, I thought “ah sacré Henry! Always bringing on the lolz”, promptly filed the apparition of the afghan blanket under “designer private joke” and moved on to the next show. Imagine my surprise when the first look at Christopher Kane happened to be none other that the (now) ubiquitous Granny blanket print. I almost fell off my front row seat, straight on the runway. If Henry and Christopher do it then it definitely is a trend… at least in London.
Christopher Kane’s take on the granny blanket is darker and more grown up. He brought the “Bad Nana” to life with shades of black and forest green before going on a nostalgic trip down childhood memory lane with gel-filled detailing on beautifully tailored dresses (more on that in a later post). There is humour here too – how could there not be when you send granny blankets down the runway? – but it is more subtle. It wasn’t a pervading theme like at the HoH show, more of a little clin d’oeil. But still. The crochet blanket reigns supreme…
… To the point that it is already catching up in the general public. Well at least in the fashion crowd. The lady pictured below was sitting right in front of me at the Todd Lynn show and I just had to get a little snap of her cardigan. Crochet or what?!?
ps – Christpher Kane is now a contributing Editor for MyDaily.co.uk. If his interview in VOGUE is anything to go by, we are in for a treat!