World of Fashion: Fashion trend: Plaid

Plaid’s strong presence on the Fall 2013 runways has us celebrating the return of the traditional print. Though plaid dates back hundreds of years, designers’ new styles, cuts and creative uses for the print are anything but old-fashioned.

Stella McCartney drew inspiration from classic British menswear for her fall collection, presenting a mannish, boxy plaid jacket with a colour palette made up of red, green and white. Céline shared the same colour palette for an oversized jacket in the label’s Fall 2013 collection, which features a selection of loose-fitted plaid ensembles. The soft silhouette of the dropped-shoulder jacket, which caters to fall’s coat trend, is recurrent throughout the labels oversized Fall 2013 offerings.

The fall 2013 runways saw designers pairing plaid with pinstripes, tweeds and other eye-catching prints for a hip take on the classic style. Heads turned at Blugirl, where models were spotted in a combination of classic plaid and leopard print. The plaid and pinstripe combination was a hit at Marc by Marc Jacobs and at Tommy Hilfiger, where models were seen in pinstriped shirts and slouchy plaid overcoats. Stella McCartney favoured the combo as well, combining a plaid bomber jacket with a pinstriped turtleneck dress at her Fall 2013 show.

A plaid-crazy Anna Sui promoted wearing the print head-to-toe at her Fall 2013 show. Similar looks were seen at Moschino and at Sacai where, models strutted down the catwalk in two-piece plaid suits.

Fall’s reimagined print had designers combining the fabric with leather, adding a healthy dose of modernity to the mix. Vivienne Tam mastered the combo, pairing loose-fitted plaid bottoms with leather geometric tops. Victoria Beckham is a fan as well; the designer presented an oversized coat with cobalt blue leather panel at her Fall 2013 show. No. 21 had another fun take on the print, pairing plaid knits and blouses with glittering sequin skirts, showing us yet another fun way to play up the plaid trend for the upcoming season.