If youre a person who follows fashion, minimalism has been haunting you for at least the last four years.
Every time you open Instagram, you came cross yet another clean, all-white outfit. Whether you blame the social app or the fashion industry as a whole for this shift toward things that are black, white, and crisp all over, its been undeniable - and frankly, were ready for it to end.
Dont get us wrong: There are ways to do minimalism without it being boring. But to be totally honest, were on a mission to shake things up and leave all of our white poplin shirts behind. We are developing a love for all things embellished, printed, painted, glitzy, and textured.
Weve said it before and well say it again: 2017 has been the year for maximalist dressing. A few years ago, minimalism stormed the fashion scene, with neutrals, pared-down layers, classic silhouettes, and a colour called oatmeal that some consider soft and soothing, but to be honest, we have to admit that its a tad dreary. Now, were not saying that minimalism is over, or that it ever totally will, but we-and-everyone seems to be having a lot more fun with fashion again.
Were mixing prints, clashing colours, adding a ruffle here, there and pretty much everywhere. Our inner Iris Apfel is rejoicing as we stop taking ourselves quite so seriously.
The psychology of maximalist fashion
The maximalist trend; a bevvy of oversized coats, hoods, trousers and sleeves that are featuring on both sides of the Atlantic. However, this new trend pushes an artistic, non-functional style into the mainstream. A new cultural phenomenon is certainly afoot, but what does pursuit of the supersize mean as a reflection of our contemporary fashion consciousness? In an age when housing crises are plenty, and green spaces few, the design of clothes that take up more room provides an interesting contrast to problems that millennials face in grounding themselves in the world through larger things such as houses, cars and so on.
Whether its supersize sleeves, wide-leg trousers, the new it style of denim with drop crotches and a line legs, platform shoes or power hoods - perhaps maximalist dress is a means of laying claim on more of the world when other material desires are not attainable. Power shoulders, enormous puffer trousers, or oversized coats with commanding lapels - these are just some examples of the ways designers are exaggerating and super-sizing the body, working against rather than with it.
In inviting wearers to exaggerate and play with shape and style, one might conclude that fashion is inviting us to own our own monsters; to occupy what is frightening, as well as take charge of the space around us. Read in this way, maximalist style becomes empowering - though perhaps only for as long as you stay upright in your 20-inch platforms.
