Normcore Is Coming Back for Fall 2023
WWD’s international editor Miles Socha broke news of Phoebe Philo’s return to the industry a day shy of New York Fashion Week’s official start, foreshadowing a season where a return to normcore style similar to the one she ignited a demand for during her tenure at Celine, was on everybody’s radar.
Characterized by articles of mix-and-match clothing, the appeal of this seemingly mundane look lies in subtle details and complicated construction techniques that would go unnoticed to those without a discerning fashion eye.
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Matthieu Blazy — a disciple of the Philo camp — could be credited with reigniting the trend at Bottega Veneta, creating deceptively simple looking tank tops, jeans and flannels from leather. For fall, he continued the technical wizardry with a collection Socha awarded the best in Milan inspired by, “street style — not from the extravagant, attention-seeking species outside fashion shows, but from the ordinary, arresting-looking people you might come across in your neighborhood,” he wrote.
Similar not-so-basic basics were seen at Miu Miu where there was, “an elevation of everyday wear along the lines of what Miuccia Prada and Raf Simons did [for Prada] in Milan, but with more gender-fluid expression,” observed WWD’s executive West Coast editor Booth Moore in her review. “Half in the office and half out came to mind when watching the leggings, sneakers, hoodies and strong outerwear looks, which played to the reality most are still living in,” she continued.
Moore also spotted a waning presence of Alessandro Michele’s maximalism on the Gucci runway as the in-house design team looked to its archives, specifically Tom Ford’s collections from the ’90s, to better align itself with undetectable luxury style. Of the collection, Moore noted, “there wasn’t anything particularly new or directional here, but it was a smart placeholder until the brand’s new creative director Sabato de Sarno begins,” pointing out how the house “brought back Ford-era model Amy Wasson, who epitomized the nonchalance of that time period in a trenchcoat with a new supersized Jackie bag slung over her arm.”
Loro Piana, Gauchere, Sandy Liang and Tory Burch also leaned into the practical look with throw-on separates to fly under-the-radar in on a jaunt to the corner bodega.
Launch Gallery: Fall 2023 Trends: Normcore
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