THERE'S a lot of heated talk going on about the latest fashions, but really, it all adds up to nothing much. It is a dull season, though there are some bright flashes. After more than two weeks of shows, very little has been sorted out. It would be hard to have feelings of excitement while everything looks so derivative of something else, designers wandering around in the past, lingering lovingly in that brief, romantic period of the pre 1920s. Then, just as this has been grappled, they are scuttling off to be modern, even post modern whatever that is.
The good news is that there is nothing much which would justify going into insolvency for the sake of your fashion. The bad news is that you will find it hard to discover something gorgeous to wear. And gorgeous is what is wanted.
There is the awful possibility that the neat grey suit will be the easiest and most popular option. Where are all the wonderful new ideas designers are supposed to woo us with? Maybe they have yet to come.
It's said the military look is in - again - but is a short skirt and a tailored jacket `military' just because it has brass buttons and a leather belt? Or is it better described as desperation on the part of a designer trying to jizz up a rather dull, tailored suit? And isn't this all a bit has been anyway?
Before anything has been resolved along comes someone else waffling on about being feminine, and suggesting soft velvets and fox fur, making it is all hopelessly confusing.
There is no point labouring the usefulness of the neat, no nonsense suit. Everyone knows it's very sensible. It's out there, from Thomas Wolfangel's custom made winner in pure wool, to Penneys' saucy number in a wool mix. The Kilkenny and Blarney shops are very strong on this sort of thing, and though they offer the suit with texture and a range of colours, it is just an ordinary suit in the end.
This is clearly a season heavily dependent on accessories. And they are classy and low keyed with lots of velvet cravats and fur collars and cuffs. At the Design Centre n the Powerscourt Townhouse, 23 designers did about 23 different looks. However, it was Miriam Mone's, `Kitty Kiernan' that blazed the trail with a Balkan fur coat - the very name causing excitement - promising good things to come. Mone's was a fully realised collection; long, narrow and feminine.
Another new look is the short, fitted coat worn with very narrow matching trousers; Yellow Hammer and Allicano offered this. It could be a good alternative to the short skirted suit, about which, enough said.
Although Richard Lewis declared himself sick and tired of anything resembling an Audrey Hepburn dress, good many Irish manufacturers are quite happy to keep it going. Talk about stuck in the 1950s. This is unchallenging and of course, more useful than, say, Synan O'Mahony's corsetry and trains as a woman battles to recreate, Les Liaisons Dangereuses. It would be a pity not to have some form of escapism like this, although opportunities to wear it are limited.
The highwayman coat might fall into the escapism class, except that it is practical as well as romantic. Big coats are in favour, usually trimmed in black velvet or fur; rather good, but needing a hat, gloves and ankle boots.
The season is full of the usual kind of cross dressing we get every year though it took Richard Lewis to do it in reverse putting men in his women's wear. His collection was all based on Africa and swagged fabric.
Pat Crowley was probably the one who got it right when she just made artless, simple clothes in beautiful fabrics and said women could wear them anywhere. And that is what dressing should be about. Dressing up is no longer part of life. We expect to recreate ourselves by the toss of a silken scarf. It probably took Lady Lavery and Kitty Kiernan a good deal more than that. A Balkan fur, trailing on the ground, would be a great start.