FRAMEBUYER | Spring Trends
Spring TRENDS GUIDE
Get a handle on what’s in store for Spring 2014 with our guide to what’s hot in eyewear and ready-to-wear for the season
BY ERINN MORGAN
this spring, style pops with fresh colors, floral prints, neon hues, over-the-top embellishments, and cool cuts like wide-leg trousers and cropped jackets. Eyewear follows in step with sorbet colors, color-blocked and retro looks, stunning embellishments, and graphic, pop art patterns.
KEY SPRING 2014 READY-TO-WEAR TRENDS
PRETTY PASTELS
Sorbet shades were all the rage on Spring 2014 runways. Soft pink is the dominant pastel of choice but hues like mint green, orchid, and baby blue also make the cut. Silhouettes awash in pastel colors—from bomber jackets and board shorts to boardroom-perfect dresses—are anything but subdued.
FANTASTIC FLORALS
Fashion designers take an artful approach to the flower motif this season, with gorgeous prints with modernist, pop art, and even art deco looks. Floral prints crop up primarily on dresses of all shapes, sizes, and lengths, but they also make their way onto skirts, tops, and sweaters.
CRISP SHIRTING
This fresh look combines up-market boyfriend pieces such as shirting and shirtdresses fashioned with crisp poplins. It delivers a new twist on a basic look that is highly appealing and truly easy to wear. Many pieces in this genre are belted for a silhouette-flattering look.
LUXURIOUSLY 3-D
Embellishment went over the top on Spring 2014 runways, with head-turning paillettes, multi-layered sequins, and sparkling crystals taking center stage. Again, subtlety takes a back seat with this trend, which shows up both as an accent on tops, pants, jackets, and dresses, as well as a head-to-toe look, sometimes even combined with floral prints.
HEAVY METAL
Metallics shine bright this season with a sheen that is definitely more megawatt lamé than subdued matte. This luscious look pops up on everything from body-skimming mini dresses and flowing, pleated, tea-length dresses to more casual yet highly glitzy tunics with cargo pocket details.
PERFECT PLEATS
Pleats get a high-fashion treatment this season and, thus, lose their prep-school look. Pleats get glam when paired with metallic fabrics; they also afford a more mature, sophisticated look on flowing skirts and dresses that have a retro feel.
WIDE-LEG TROUSERS
Supremely easy to wear, ultra-chic billowing trousers made a splash on spring runways. Wide-leg trousers cropped up in everything from denim to linen. Though extra-wide-leg pants turned heads, more wearable looks are also available that are leaner on the flare and offer a higher waist to elongate the wearer’s frame.
PLAYING FIELD
Sports-inspired looks are a key trend for the Spring ’14 season, with athletic gear for everything from surfing to cricket serving as inspiration. Sporting accents include neon striping, strappy bathing suit accents, and tennis dresses. The athletic stripe also amps up tuxedo-inspired pants in sporty cuts.
SPRING 2014 MEN’S LOOKS
With a dark yet romantic palette, menswear is noticeably less opulent than women’s clothing for the Spring 2014 season. Still, men’s looks get livened up with floral prints and extreme sports influences. Here, a few of the key men’s trends for the season.
FLOWER SHOW
Spring ushers in a tropical floral motif for men that is less beach vacation and more floral inspired by both retro and modern appeal.
SOFT POWER
The stiff power suit is replaced this season with a new tailoring that emphasizes softer lines and fluid fabrics. The new power suit embraces longer jackets and looser pants.
MID-CENTURY STYLE
Retro looks of the 1940s and 1950s are a major influence this season. Looks include high waists and spread collars updated in new prints.
SPORTING NEWS
Menswear is inspired by extreme sports this season, with the influential cultures of the bike, surf, and skate worlds as a major consideration.
Above: Runway image from Gucci; sunglasses: Skechers by Viva Group
Pastels from GUESS!, prints from Marc Jacobs, and color blocks from Fendi
AN OPTICIAN’S VIEW
Zach Winitz, owner of the high-end, fashion-focused Glasses, ltd., in Chicago, shares his take on spring’s most wearable fashion and eyewear trends.
FRAMEBUYER: Do eyewear trends really link to RTW/runway trends each season?
ZACH WINITZ: There are definitely certain lines that fluctuate with certain runway or avant-garde trends—typically, we see that in sunglasses. People are more willing to be bold in a sunglass than they are with an ophthalmic pair.
FB: Do customers care about matching their eyewear to the trends of the season?
WINITZ: I think people are more concerned with picking glasses that will last longer than a season. Glasses style trends last much longer than clothing. In fashion, things can come and go in a moment, but glasses trends have a longer cycle. There are those who use glasses as a fashion accessory and are more likely to purchase based on a new trend in fashion, but we see that a lot less frequently.
FB: Do you ever discuss fashion trends with customers as part of your eyewear sales/presentation process?
WINITZ: We try to steer them toward pieces that are fashion forward and up to date. We want them to be in frames that are a good fit for their lifestyle and comfort level. So many of our clients are already up to date fashion-wise but need help bringing their glasses to match their great style. Until recently, most people didn’t get excited about glasses or realize that they could also have fun with them like they could shoes, purses, or other accessories.
FB: Do you discuss eyewear fashion trends with them? How much does fashion factor into the eyewear sale?
WINITZ: We carry the most up-to-date frames in our shops, so we are always discussing with our customers what the latest options are for them in eyewear.
FB: What are your favorite women’s RTW fashion trends for the Spring ’14 season?
WINITZ: The menswear look for women is really great—it correlates so well to glasses. Women of all ages are rocking a more masculine look these days in their frames. It’s such a great trend because it goes so well with so many personalities, lifestyles, and face types.
FB: What are your favorite eyewear fashion trends for the Spring ’14 season?
WINITZ: I’m loving all of the matte finishes we are seeing, especially when combined with the lighter champagne colors and mixed with tortoise shell. And, of course, the oversized or chunky frames coming out are really fun to work with as well—this falls right in line with the more masculine look.
Zach Winitz of Glasses, ltd.
Sporty looks (l to r) from Max Mara and Tommy Hilfiger
KEY SPRING ’14 EYEWEAR TRENDS
WOMEN’S EYEWEAR
• Important, of-the-season shapes include modified cat eyes paired with square and Clubmaster influences plus angular looks, rounds, and semi-rimless styles.
• The season’s palette of colors includes shimmering gold and silver metallics, vibrant pastels and candy colors, as well as marbled tortoises in a variety of rich, deep hues.
• The most stand-out accents of the season include organic patterns, layered acetates, and unconventional embellishments such as leather, wood, and pearls plus crystals placed in unusual spots.
• Lenses jump in the fashion field with colors that match frame shades, brightly colored mirrored looks, plus blue, violet, and amber tints.
MEN’S EYEWEAR
• Eyewear shapes for men include classic squares, extended rectangles, modern rounds, and angular looks.
• Eyewear colors of the season for men include solid blacks, pure white, glittering golds, and transparent shades.
• The best details in men’s eyewear debuting for the season include keyhole bridges, standout browbars, marbled contrasts, as well as layered constructions.
• Men’s lenses get flashy with mirrored finishes that go beyond gold and silver into bright pops of color including orange, green, and blue.
Information courtesy eyecessorize and Luxottica.
Top to bottom: Emporio Armani style EA 2013 and Tiffany style TF 3045H from Luxottica; Gant style GS 7006 from Viva Group
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