Ken Downing's 10 Top Fall Trends and 7 Favorite eBay Searches

By Nandini D'Souza
September 21, 2010

To anyone outside the industry, the biannual four-city fashion circuit known casually as “The Collections” is impossibly glamorous. For front row fixture Ken Downing, they are glamorous, yes, but also part of the job. As Senior Vice President and Fashion Director of Neiman Marcus, his mission, show after show, is to process everything he sees on the runways, weed through the extraneous information (the sometimes distracting productions, the celeb-flecked front rows, etc.) and distill the core message of the season—the trends and pieces that will speak emotionally to the Neiman Marcus customer.

That customer is someone Downing is incredibly intimate with, even if they’ve never actually met. Neiman Marcus is famous for thoroughly understanding and anticipating its shoppers’ sartorial moods. As he puts it, “At Neiman Marcus, we buy what we know our customers will desire.” And every season, that all starts with a rapid-fire tour of four cities in four weeks (more or less), in which Downing will see approximately 300 collections—not including showroom appointments or necessary business breakfasts, lunches, dinners and parties. Yet Downing still approaches each exhaustive odyssey with energy and enthusiasm for the next, great exciting moment in fashion.

Fresh from New York Fashion Week and with Milan kicking off tomorrow, we talked trends with Downing.

The Inside Source: Of all the runway shows you've seen through the years, which are the ones that have stayed with you?

Ken Downing: Fashion images stay with me forever! Don't ask me what year what war was fought; I have no idea. What shoe did Yves Saint Laurent show in 1971? That I know. Shows that I can't get out of my mind for fall 2010 are Marc Jacobs and Alexander Wang in New York, Burberry by Christopher Bailey in London, Prada and Missoni in Milan and where do I start with Paris? Chanel, Lanvin, Givenchy, Dries van Noten, Valentino. Paris was a tour de force!

TIS: What’s your takeaway from fall 2010?

KD: Fall 2010 is a season of contrasts, juxtaposing the masculine with the feminine.

TIS: And the most important pieces a woman should have this fall?

KD: Ten things a women needs to be sure to have in her wardrobe:

1. Green—leading the color pack is olive, although I am in love with all shades of green for fall.

2. Military Influences: These looks command attention and look best with a feminine flourish.

3. The Pant Suit! New, modern and sexy.

4. Capes, ponchos and vests add immediate chic to any woman's wardrobe.

5. Fur and fur trims, real and faux.

6. Lace adds romance and the feminine touch to fall’s menswear-inspired looks.

7. Feathers—embrace the thrill of the quill.

8. A wardrobe of boots—you need a different pair for every mood.

9. The structured handbag—ladylike shapes are perfect with the tailored looks of the season.

10. Pearls add a chic luster with a Victorian nostalgia to menswear-inspired fabrications.

TIS: Any trends you’d like to see come or go?

KD: Trends fade away on their own. A trend I would like to see return is people being a bit more dressed when they travel. I spend my life on airplanes and am always shocked by how little care people put into their traveling wardrobe.

TIS: Celeb-mag fodder aside, why are the runway important?

KD: The runway allows a designer to dream and create the fantasy that is the voice that speaks the message of the season. Fashion without fantasy is only clothes. The runway is a moving pictorial of our lives today and how influencers of our times interpret them. It inspires beyond just fashion and how we dress; it ignites ideas of how we decorate our homes, the music we enjoy, the food we eat. It not only informs the moment, but also becomes inspiration for the future.

TIS: Given the state of economy in the last few years, how has the Neiman Marcus customer changed her attitude towards shopping?

KD: The Neiman Marcus customer is laser focused on what she does not already own. Newness is paramount for the fashion customer!

TIS: What was your first purchase on eBay?

KD: My first eBay purchase was a vintage light fixture or Raymor pottery. I am obsessed with vintage lighting and lamps so probably lighting first.

TIS: What was the last piece you bought on eBay?

KD: That's easy—vintage wallpaper! I am finishing my mother’s home outside of Seattle. My latest trick is cutting the designs out of the vintage wallpaper and adhering them to the ceilings and behind wall brackets. It gives the look of a hand painted detail. It is totally crazy and over the top. Very Tony Duquette!

Downing’s favorite eBay Search Terms

Roll over items for details

Vintage Venus de Milo Lamp

(buy it now price, $74.99)

NEW Vintage 1970’s Retro Wallpaper

(buy it now price, $30.95)

Vintage Ceramic Owl Set

(buy it now price, $11.31)

African Mask

(buy it now price, $10)

1970s Interior Decorating Book

(starting bid, $5)

Raymor Italian Studio Ceramic Horse

(buy it now price, $265)

Vintage Birdbath

(buy it now price, $199)

Ken Downing's 10 Top Fall Trends and 7 Favorite eBay Searches

1. Vintage Lighting: “Lamps, especially if they are busts. I picked up a pair of plaster lamps of a young boy and young girl not long ago, a Sister Parish moment. And super unusual chandeliers, Victorian to Mid-Century. An amazing light fixture changes the personality of any room.”

2. Vintage Wallpaper: “The color combinations from the ‘30s and ‘40s are super chic and sophisticated. Try clipping the design of the paper to put around a ceiling medallion. It looks spectacular, I promise! I am renovating a lake house from the ‘70s, so I am using wallpaper in the bathrooms from that period.

3. Owls: “My grandmother collected them (who didn't in the 70s). The ‘70s lake house is begging for them. I love them with a sophisticated attitude, not so kitschy.”

4. African Masks: “I love a bit of tribal in any room.”

5. Vintage Decorating Books: “Everything old is new again. The best decorating ideas come from the past with a little tweaking for the future.”

6. Raymor Pottery: “I am having a big love affair with pottery. The colors of the glazes are out of this world.”

7. Vintage Garden Statuary, Especially Garden Stools: “You can never have too many, inside or out! I am also fanatical about old birdbaths, some for water, some for bird seed. A garden full of wildlife is a simple pleasure.”

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