Frieze Fashion 2018: It’s All About The Leopard

Frieze! Again! It seems to come around quicker each year and clearly this time, everyone had read Jane’s How To Wear Leopard Print post, because every other person at the fair was wearing some kind of animal print. If you want to be on trend this season, you need buy nothing else. What’s the group noun for a cluster of women wearing the stuff? A pride?

It really was everywhere, as jackets, coats, dresses, skirts and accessories. it’s the new black/neutral/millennial pink, people.

I loved this white and black outfit above, the joy of fashion-spotting at Frieze is that there are a few women in the arty crew who really know how to dress in an interesting way, they are creative, bold and visionary and don’t seem to give a fig about trend. This is who I dream of spying, but this year there were fewer of them.

Below is a wall hanging/rug by Sophie Taeuber-Arp with the BEST colours.

Let’s talk about those pleated skirts….

Pleated skirts were huge at last year’s Frieze and they were still a major player this year, with a few new hybrids; metallic shine, as above in gloriously rich gold, and lurex flecked knits, as below. The knitted ones looked very good and apparently mostly have elasticated waistlines. Just saying.

This one below was a lovely print/knit/lurex/pleat combo. Lots of them were worn with black to balance out the excitement.

The wonderfully appropriate Believe Women by Andrea Bowers, below, was snapped a lot during the opening day.

Trouser suits!

After you’ve bought something in leopard, get yourself a single breasted or narrow double breasted, patterned or brightly coloured trouser suit.

They absolutely rocked at Frieze this year. They looked smart yet when worn in a patterned or unexpected hue, they seemed to have a sense of humour that lightened the tone and said ‘I don’t take myself too seriously’. Even though all the ones I saw cost well into triple, if not quadruple, figures.

My favourite two were the pistachio green one above, worn with those cute bow flats, and the elastoplast pink one below, note the crucial, ankle skimming length of the trews please.

These wonderful sculptural pictures below, using old tights (well they probably aren’t old) was another of my favourite prices of artwork. They are by Martin Soto Climent. Who would have thought tights would look so textural and gorgeous?

Back to the trouser suits, there was also a a softer wrappy vibe, as below. This raspberry pink is such a flattering tone .

And red. The colour of the gorgeously bold.

One interesting styling trend I am new too is the ‘one sleeve off’ jacket shrug. I know all about shoulder robing, but this one sleeve number was a new one, and it wasn’t accidental, I didn’t catch her mid-disrobing, she wore it like this all around the fair. I’m wondering, – menopausal moment? We’ve all been there. Lovely suit though.,

Trend people will have loved the Nick Cave Sound Suits, which have been popular with creatives and artists alike for a while due to their joyous use of pattern colour and texture. These ones were jam packed with finely crafted embroidery, quilting, weaving, sequins and knitted fabulousness.

Pattern Joy….

My favourite dressers are those that are in total control of their exciting pattern combinations. I love this look, we have Gucci (and Dries) to thanks for this but it’s actually quite tricky to pull off with aplomb. How lovely is this skirt and blouse mash-up above?

And this artfully layered outfit really did look fabulous, and was given extra textural emphasis with the fur lined clogs. I need a pair.

I loved the simple shapes in soothingly muted bright colours of Silvia Bächli, they calmed me down just by looking at them.

A patterned coat, beautifully tailored and at just the right length, as this one on the right above is, is a proper investment buy this year, it elevates any outfit.

I watched these two women below admire each other while having a coffee, I visually ‘eavesdropped’  and watched from afar as they eventually connected and chatted about how much they both clearly loved each other’s choice of colour schemes.

Embroidered hems.

This was about the most out-there concept I spotted this year. Embroidered jean hems. Just getting my head around them.

And to demonstrate that you do not need to spend money to look great, this embroidered skirt, above, was this summer’s H&M and looked absolutely stunning worn with a black T shirt.

THAT”S what I can do with all my old mirrors…..Song Dong making creativity look easy.

The white boot.

Definitely a thing, worn with brighter colours and denim it looked really modern and fresh. Ankle hugging and with a small blocked heel. it seemed to go with everything.

David Shrigley, above, distracting me from the fashion.

Finally, the glam trainer, still a thing, years after they first appeared here. I’d say that maybe as many as half the attendees were wearing some type of flat trainer hybrid, often luxed-up and blingy, but it’s still the footwear of choice for the dressed up art crew.

The final word from Penny Goring, above, whose artwork for me summed up the current mood for women. Frieze this year happened while the US senate discussed and wrangled over its newest Supreme Court judge; in terms of listening to women, we still have a long way to go. Maybe art can make it happen.