NYFW prints, colors make high-fashion looks attainable

Fashion lovers’ favorite week recently passed, gracing us with designer collections that we can hope to someday own. New York Fashion Week, which happens twice a year, showcases the gorgeous, intricate and over-the-top collections by our favorite designers. For the majority of us, our college budgets don’t give us the ability to afford Gucci or Balenciaga, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t follow the trends. Each designer creates looks that make each brand unique from one another, but there are trends that are commonly seen throughout the runway. While we most likely aren’t showing up to our 8 a.m. covered in sequins and feathers, there are trends that we can easily incorporate into our everyday wardrobes without breaking the bank as well. 

Luckily for us regular people, the styles that debuted this season were less over-the-top than usual and looked more like garments we'd actually want to wear. Prints were popular on the runway this year, specifically camouflage, animal print and plaid. Christian Dior’s Fall 2018 collection featured a lot of the latter. Models were suited up in plaid, with the brand incorporating full plaid suits to contrasting plaid prints on tops and bottoms. A plaid suit probably isn’t a staple in our closets, but putting a plaid jacket on top of an outfit or wearing plaid pants instead of jeans is a great way of incorporating this trend. R13 Denim's Fall 2018 collection dominated the runway in animal print and camouflage. Some models were dressed in head-to-toe leopard print, which might be too over-the-top for a regular day out. A great way to incorporate animal print is on a jacket, which can be thrown over a casual outfit or worn on a night out. R13 had the same approach with camouflage print, covering its models in it. Camouflage pants are super popular right now, and can match with a huge variety of tops. These versatile pants can be worn to class with a pair of sneakers or dressed up with a pair of booties. There are endless possibilities. 

See-through materials were all over the runway, which included lace and fishnet. Lace was a popular material for creating dresses and tops, especially within Yves Saint Laurent’s Fall 2018 collection. Many of the dresses were constructed completely with lace, and black lace tops were paired with leather. This trend can easily be recreated, by pairing a lace top with a leather skirt or pants. If you wanted to opt for a lace dress instead of a top, throwing on a leather jacket on top of the dress will give a more edgy look to an otherwise dainty and girly dress. Fishnet was a small detail on the majority of models in the Dolce&Gabbana Fall 2018 collection, but it added a lot of character. The brand decided on adding fishnet socks to their extravagant looks. Models were seen wearing them with heels, boots and flats, showing how versatile fishnet socks are. Wearing fishnet socks is an affordable and subtle way to make an outfit look even more fashionable. If you wanted to use fishnet in a more dramatic way, wearing a long-sleeve fishnet shirt under a short-sleeve or putting on fishnet tights under ripped jeans are great options. 

Neutrals will always be classic and in style, but it's clear that pairing neutrals with bright colors is trendy right now. Everyone loves blacks, nudes and whites, but adding bright colors can really make an outfit stand out. Lanvin’s Fall 2018 collection showcased pairings of black and beige with bright colors. Bright orange, green, yellow and blue stood out paired with the neutrals. With spring quickly coming our way, this is a great way to incorporate our dark winter clothing into a bright and refreshing outfit. Wearing a bright colored top with black jeans or color blocking bright colors is an easy way to add some color into your life. If you want the color to be more subtle, throw on a colored bag or wear bright shoes. Wearing a bright pair of pants or layering a dress on top of a t-shirt or long-sleeve are even more dramatic ways to play around with this trend. 

New York Fashion Week always serves looks, and following trends may not seem like the easiest thing. The often eccentric looks seem almost impossible to recreate, but we can incorporate these trends into our everyday lives. Finding easy ways to follow these trends can turn our everyday surroundings into our very own runway.