On the streets surrounding Fashion Week’s buzzy shows, the once-monochromatic gray clouds that used to hover so glumly have been cleared away for something far more playful and eye-grabbing: tasteful clashing.
While the imitative word “clash” emerged back in the 1600s to describe the harsh sound emitted when two metal objects struck—be it cymbals or swords—in today’s aesthetic vernacular, we trade those weapons for prints that visually collide (think geometrics and animal prints, reds and greens). Minimalism dominated the fashion conversation of the ‘90s, defined by a cultural obsession with the perfect white t-shirt, straight jeans, and knit sweater rotation (thanks CBK!). What possibly emerged as an antidote to volatile trend-shifting became a sort of uniform of sophistication. That era has met a worthy rival.
Gone are the days of prescriptive fashion rules, and in their wake floods an overflowing buffet of patterns, textures, and colors, all paired in wonderfully striking, eccentric, and individualistic ways. With this abandonment of dictums comes the dissolution of seasonal tropes—year-round plaid and florals are the new normal, which is often best expressed with street style seen around the twice-yearly collection presentations. There is certainly advice out there for venturing into this bold new territory: patterns should be of different sizes so they do not feel like they are fighting each other, and stylists recommend maintaining a cohesive color palette or using neutral-colored accessories to balance out the look. Yet, there is no one reliable recipe; instead, tasteful clashing relies on a certain je ne sais quoi, as these street style images so expertly show. So with that, experiment away!
