Fringe has become a word universally accepted when it comes to Fall fashion trends. It seems, that by the time Fall RTW shows roll around, everyone expects to see tassel and fringe on the runway. Despite tassel and fringe being a prominent trend, this tends to only come in the form of accessories and some clothing - it is hard to find fringe jackets. There are plenty of jackets adorned in fur, but fringe is few and far between. This year was different and the designers did not disappoint, as they presented us with an array of fringe; bags, shoes, skirts, and most importantly jackets.
First, I am going to highlight some honorable mentions among the tassel and fringe trend. We will start out with accessories and then mention some jackets. From there I will highlight specific collections that featured multitudes of fringe.
Tory Burch had a sprinkle of tassel and fringe throughout her collection - a few bags here and there and my favorite new fringe accessory - the tassel belt.
Altuzarra decorated his outfits with bold tasseled bags.
At Edun, the fringed jacket begins to creep its way in. This collection featured a few coats that have frayed bottoms - or what I like refer to as baby fringe. The frayed bottoms grow to form a delicate fringe on coats and long vests on other pieces in the collection. I feel like Danielle Sherman, creative director for Edun, was approaching fringe in a more subtle, yet still as eye-catching, way.
Proenza Shouler approached fringe in a completely different way from Edun. Rather than having delicate threads of fringe, this collection featured a bold approach. Garments were constructed with large flaps of fabric folded over, creating the illusion of large fringe. This appeared on both skirts and jackets.
Rebecca Minkoff is one of the first collections that has quite a few tassel and fringe pieces throughout. It first makes its appearances on accessories - bags and boots. From there it begins to form on garments, as we can see on the wine red dress's sleeves. Then Rebecca Minkoff presents us with different forms of the fringe jacket; a vest, kimono, sweaters, and a biker jacket that the designer is wearing herself.
At Tom Ford, it seems as though tassel and fringe is becoming a common thing. Ford presents us with a collection that doesn't lack this trend in anyway. We have fringe skirts, tassel dresses, even cuff bracelets and earrings! Then he gives us this wonderful shaggy sweater that makes you want it to be Winter right now, even though the flowers are just starting to bloom. I think the most unique fringe piece in this collection is the black tailored blazer that features fringe on the sleeves. Fringe is often on leather jackets that either have a biker or western feel to them, so it is different and refreshing to see how fringe can create a classy look.
Speaking of different and refreshing, Balmain's show was just that. After seeing Tom Fords tailored fringe blazer, this collection brought tassel and fringe to a whole other level of classy. If I had to choose one word to describe the designs in this collection it would be glorious. Models made their way down the runway in bright flowing pieces consisting of tops, skirts, dresses, and of course jackets.
At Burberry, we hit the gold mine of tassel and fringe, and not just in accessories. While there were tons of fringe bags and shoes, this collection was plentiful in fringe jackets. This trend first appeared as fringe capes and ponchos; they were either bold knits or bright patterned fabrics with suede fringe. Then models began to make their way down the runway in trench coats adorned in fringe. Finally, my favorite design appeared - a magnificent fringe cape that is beautiful, but at the same time reminds me of a Diglett from Pokemon (specifically the last picture). Overall this collection is the best example of the trend, but I do believe that cape could be inching towards excess, or maybe even digging.
