After many years working in stores, it still happens that someone stops by with a bewildered expression and asks the same fateful question:

So, what’s in style this year?

A professional, objective response could be to give a broad overview of the season’s trends…like:

stylists say no to the crisis, calling on women to courageously assert their femininity without renouncing the pleasures of luxury, as can be seen in the opulent sequin-covered jackets or leather pants hanging here…

or, the opposite:

the crisis is forcing women to be more modest, serious, and attentive to small everyday things, so here’s a multi-use jacket and top, with a touch of femininity in the key details, like staggeringly high heels and strictly above-the-knee lengths.

But, “we are what we eat”; and the only possible response from a space which feeds on research and clothing that effectively satisfies an independent-minded aesthetic is the following:

You know, I don’t know! I could tell them about this winter’s flights of fantasy and inspirations by Rei Kawakubo-Comme des Garçons;

or about the cuts created by Yohji Yamamoto‘s sartorial musings;

or about Issey Miyake‘s textile experiments;

or if they prefer, I could help them discover the reversibility of every article of clothing by Daniela Gregis.

Otherwise, I could show them the extraordinary cashmere colours made possible by a recent innovation in knitting technology…

…you are right, I am getting off track, but I feel underprepared to describe the trends for autumn-winter 2013-2014, I’m so sorry…