5 Fashion Trends That Will Stick Around in 2010

By Robert Cordero
January 5, 2010

2009 was just the tip of the iceberg on several fashion trends that will be even bigger in 2010. Here are five influential movements that are only just beginning.

Fashion Films Inspire

Fashion on film has been all the rage with designers, but this year the joined mediums reached a new level of artistry. Moving beyond artsy vignettes to complement runway collections, fashion actually became the subject or central part of films. Designers and brands working on their collections for late 2010 and beyond will be looking to these films for inspiration.

Designer and former Gucci Creative Director Tom Ford’s directorial debut, "A Single Man," has earned several Golden Globes nods, but designers will surely take note of the lush, Wong Kar Wai-esque hues as well as the professorial threads of the existential-weary protagonist, George Falconer, played by Colin Firth. Fanciful gowns worn by Julianne Moore’s character may have seemed extravagant for her homebody disposition, but labels with Hollywood clientele are paying attention.

"Coco Avant Chanel," a biopic depicting the French couturier with an indomitable spirit, is also ripe for inspired pickings. Chanel’s pared down, masculine, and at times anachronistic look is right inline with the more empowering jacket and pants attire currently preferred by many women. With the current fashion trend compass pointing toward assertive looks for both genders, these films are the perfect
bedfellow for fashion.

But you don’t have to wait for the collections to hit stores, here are some options from eBay:

Vintage Halston Dress (buy it now price, $979) Streamlined, yet glamorous, this Halston number is redolent of what Julianne Moore’s character wore in "A Single Man."

Tom Ford Glasses (buy it now price, $99.99) Tom Ford’s own line of sunglasses are fit for an erudite man like his character, George Falconer.

Chanel Tweed Jacket (buy it now price, $2,999.99) Though Chanel turned heads with what were considered mannish silhouettes in her time, this
suede jacket fits right in with the current womenswear looks.

Bloggers Blow Up

The front row at Fashion Week is traditionally relegated to seasoned power editors such as Anna Wintour of American Vogue, Suzy Menkes of the International Herald Tribune, and Cathy Horyn of the New York Times. All that changed this year as popular bloggers such as Bryan Yamabao of Bryanboy, Tavi Gevinson of StyleRookie, and Tommy Ton of Jak and Jil eagerly stormed the coveted seats. With experience giving way to youthful exuberance, the show-going experience is definitely more colorful, but it marks a symbolic paradigm shift of media power.

The bloggers’ very personal, unadulterated passion for fashion that genuinely speaks to their audience has garnered formidable following that rivals that of the online properties from big media players. Naturally, the fashion folks are taking notes and paying serious attention. Important fashion journalists now have blogs, and brands are courting them.

Jane Aldridge, of Sea of Shoes was flown to Paris to fit a dress for Chanel in order to attend the Crillon Ball; Marc Jacobs has named a bag after BryanBoy; and the teenaged Gevinson, who now writes a
column for Harpers Bazaar, was flown to Japan to attend a Commes des Garcons party. Major publications like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and the Financial Times covered these stories throughout
2009, and the famously iron-fisted editors at American Vogue are also working on a feature for the March 2010 issue.

Expect more presence from these bright young upstarts in the coming year, but in the meantime, here are some products from brands that these bloggers love.

Bryanboy with Aliona Doletskaya, editor in chief of Russian Vogue at Marc Jacobs Spring 2010. (Photo by Jeremy Kost/WireImage); Louis Vuitton Silver monogram bag (buy it now price, $3,488.99) Bryanboy is usually toting an expensive bags from Hermes, Goyard, or Louis Vuitton.

Tavi with Yohji Yamamotot at Y-3 Spring 2010. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Y-3); Commes des Garcons Jodhpur Pant (buy it now price, $395) If you follow Tavi’s blog, its no secret that she loves Commes des Garcons. We’re betting that she’ll approve this jodphur pant.

Fashion Gets an American Workout

With the economic slowed down this year, here-today-gone-tomorrow fashion items became as outdated as the bull market and people started looking for familiar and durable clothing that was less about flash and more about value. Eschewing exotic or whimsical inspirations, many spring/summer 2010 collections mined American workwear history, harkening back to the work-weathered days of the Industrial Revolution when clothes were built to last.

For his spring 2010 collection, Ralph Lauren took a trip to the Depression Era with ripped indigo jeans and unevenly dyed gowns for a soiled effect. Retailers from Opening Ceremony in New York to American Rag in Los Angeles are also trumpeting the trend, while countless celebrities are wearing plaid for the raffish, devil-may-care look. Even European brands have jumped on the bandwagon, with Phoebe Philo’s collection for Celine threading a minimalist vein with a copious amount of Carhartt-like canvas, Nicolas Ghesquiere reworking tough denim into panels of slim pants for Balenciaga,and Dolce & Gabbana turning tough-looking denim into flirty concoctions with black lace. Today, the laborers who were central to America’s growth towards prosperity have become aesthetic references and will find their way in many a fashionista’s closet.

If you’re looking to inject some workwear into your look, here are runway looks that demonstrate the trend as well as some styles from a few of the most storied American brands:

The Ralph Lauren Collection Spring 2010 (Photo by Biasion Studio/WireImage); Celine Ready To Wear show as part of the Paris Womenswear Fashion Week Spring 2010 (Photo by Karl Prouse/Catwalking/Getty Images); Balenciaga Pret a PorterSpring 2010 (Photo by Chris Moore/Catwalking/Getty Images)

Levi’s Jeans (starting bid, $13.75); Carharrt Shirt (buy it now price, approximately $27); Pendleton Shirt Jacket (buy it now price, $24.99)

Click Over Bricks

Smart fashionistas have been shopping eBay for deals on luxury goods since 1995. This past year, a challenging economy combined with the closing of hundreds of brick-and-mortar stores as well as an increased consumer comfort with online shopping led to a rise in discount e-commerce sites, which have posted record sales and profits in 2009. Yoox.com for one, was the first ever fashion e-tailer to be publically listed in the
Milan stock exchange, while private sample sale shopping site Gilt Group is now worth a report $400 million, its competitor Rue Lala was sold for $350 million, and French site Vente Privee is reportedy being negotiated to be sold for a mind boggling $2 billion to Amazon. eBay has even jumped into the flash sale game with the launch of Fashion Vault, which has hosted sales on brands like DKNY, Marina Rinaldi and Max Mara. Given that consumers have now become accustomed to getting deals, we're forecasting a sales uptick for discount fashion sites as consumer adoption is likely to grow.

Fashion Vault and Gilt homepages

Lady Gaga Glamour

Lady Gaga’s outrageous style has not only caused a racket among her fans (just as Madonna, Prince, and Michael Jackson did in the 1980s, but the 23-year-old New Yorker's popular appeal also makes her a brand marketer's dream. The video for "Bad Romance," for instance, has been viewed over 50 million times on Youtube, making it a more effective advertisement for the brands she wears such as Carrera, Alexander McQueen, and emerging designer Benjamin Cho than any other media outlet could offer. But aside from the maximum exposure she can generate for brands, Gaga is also shaking up pop music’s fashion game. In response to her outré tastes, Gaga’s contemporaries such as Beyonce and Rihanna, are also upping their own style antes, with increasingly more outlandish looks--a level of competition that is good for everyone. But perhaps, one of Lady Gaga’s most powerful early cultural contributions is her message that being different is okay. Stars as spectacular as Gaga seem to only come around once a generation, so with MJ's sad passing this year, her entry to music world dominance is timely. Mind you, 2009 was only Gaga's first year on the scene, and we predict that the self-proclaimed performance artist’s influence hasn’t even scratched the surface.

Some of Gaga’s most outrageous looks: meeting the Queen if England, December 2009 (Photo by LEON NEAL/AFP/Getty Images); in Manhattan, on November 2009 in New York City (Photo by Marcel Thomas/FilmMagic); attending an MTV VMA After Party in New York, September 2009 (Photo by Shareif Ziyadat/Getty Images)