Trend watch: pleats

After the success of this years Oscar winning film Black Swan, ballerina chic is a must have for SS11, and luckily the catwalk offers plenty of inspiration. This trend is feminine, floaty and best worn through the plisse pleat.

At Lanvin, master of ladylike style Alber Elbaz, showed his knack for beautifully angelic feminine creations with models storming the runway in flowing pleated skirts in tones of dark navy and grey. Chloe, another leader in feminine fashion, also offered a ladylike ballet look from head to toe. Models wore their hair tightly pulled back and parted to the side while the clothes were in pale one-tone colours. The look was finished with those all important pleats, which reoccurred in gentle pastels in a very wearable skirt.

This essentially feminine trend goes hand in hand with simple pastel colours and block tones, and this was largely prevalent in the designers’ offerings. However, Christopher Kane’s popping neon brights featured pleats from the super skinny to wider kilt style, showing that today’s ballerinas aren’t all pliés and ponytails.

Get the look from the high street with Whistles, House of Fraser and Topshop who all have great pleated styles this spring.

Christopher Kane shows pleats for SS11 (Photo by Nicolette Mason/Flickr Creative Commons)

Neon pleats for spring (Photo by Nicolette Mason/Flickr Creative Commons)