copenhagen/stockholm fashion weeks: stylein
(images via fashionising)
now then, just to clarify before there’s any confusion: like a handful of other labels we’ve encountered in the past (even including, it seems—see s/s 2011, a/w 2011, s/s 2012, a/w 2012—this one!), the swedish house of stylein has regularly or alternately taken to showing their collections on both the homefront in stockholm, and on foreign shores, at copenhagen fashion week. thus, although the images i’m using at present come from the cfw version of the exhibition, we’ll discuss their s/s 2012 collection using sources from both stagings of the presentation, hence the review name above.
over the seasons we’ve covered designer elin nyström’s work, we’ve come to know stylein as one of the quintessential, clean, minimalist scandinavian labels with a frequently lovely, if quite colour palette, limited prints, and often a quirky detail or two to keep the garments from falling into the boredom department. this time around i was a little amused to read the swedish site damernas (ironically, i think) wondering (trans.) “will Stylein be combining strict lines and sheer fabrics. Is it? you may ask.”
in other words, the spring range, titled ‘a split second’ clocked in with more of what ms. nyström does best, with the biggest story usually whether she has shifted from rusty and dark hues to the lighter, spring-y pale pastels we’re seeing at the moment. “The cuts were the classic Scandinavian. It was a minimalist collection,” (trans.) reported the danish blog amalie haun, as we were in for more of those long, fluid (oft nipple-defining) knit dresses and tailored office-y separates.
although none of the reviews i consulted really touched on inspiration, the swedish site bon seemed to think the show was about nature, and most of the rest seemed to come in describing what was before us. “Graphic flower patterns were mixed with colourful coral and neutrals such as navy, white and gray,” was how the site fashion field summarized it, adding that “(t)he slouchy dresses with slits are perfect for the one who’s after the subtle feminine sex-appeal.”
meanwhile, after explaining that the range “shows clear straight lines and hard forms,” (trans.) the swedish pernillas värld added that “Stylein continues working with silk and this time in a beautiful blue sun shade mixed with soft concrete gray suede, with clear cuts that are mixed up with beautiful draping. In this collection, Styleinhas also created a beautiful print that is a colourful play of light and shadows in quadratic forms.”
“Front and center in the Stylein fashion show were undoubtedly the peach and apricot ensembles,” claimed the examiner. “Stylein features a lovely peach colored sleeveless floor length tank dress with gathering around the neckline and a thigh-high slit down the front of one leg. A slightly shorter, calf-length, apricot colored dress with a cowl neck is paired with a black full-length coat as welll as black sandals…As delectable as these luscious peach and apricot dresses are, it’s hard to move on to the more basic white and neutral numbers in shades of pearl grey, which Stylein has plenty of…”
“The designs are fairly uncomplicated, yet elegant and allow plenty of mix-matching,” the site carried on. “Take for example a long and lean ivory tunic with a hip-high slit on the left side is paired with slim black Capri length pants. That fairly sparse look could be dressed up with chunky jewelry and/or an amazing scarf or worn alone to keep things simple. Their white pantsuit is very elegant as well as is their black chiffon V-neck dress. Stylein also reinforces that shorts are very much on-trend to be worn formally, such as their pearl grey shorts, which are teamed with an ivory twinset.”
finally, showing that some of the various sources are coming in with the same conclusions, the swedish website nyheter 24 commented that the range (trans.) “shows…contrasts of weightlessness, with compact volume becoming apparent in the exclusive materials. The collection’s colours move in an organized chaos, like images in a kaleidoscope. Cool silk in sunny yellow, soft concrete gray suede with clear cuts in sea blue angora interact on a consistent basis.” it was another exceptionally lovely offering from ms. nyström’s atelier.
(see the collection video here)
