Spring is in the air and our resident fashionistas give us the lowdown on what we think you will be wearing in the coming months.

After being wonderstruck by winter’s bold brights, vivid prints and baroque embellishments, the spring/summer 2013 collections brought with them a bevy of black-and-white apparel. Be it in boxy blazers à la Chanel, or the silky silhouettes at Céline, spring’s femme fatale is graphic and colour-free.

Leave it to Marc Jacobs to reinvigorate the psychedelic ’60s with his nod to mod maven Edie Sedgwick at both Louis Vuitton and his namesake label. With thoughts of The Factory and Mary Quant on the mind, Jacobs’ Warholian moment spotlighted Edie look-a-likes donning dresses and suits in checkered black and white. Thick, contrasting stripes of paillettes and graphic plaids aided the optical illusion of the youthquake collections.

Dolce and Gabbana and Michael Kors echoed Jacobs’ singular vision of horizontal and vertical stripes, as did Moschino who presented a monochromatic, equestrian-themed collection inspired by the Audrey Hepburn ’60s classic film ‘Two for the Road‘.  And Oscar de la Renta’s statement striped ball gown was a runway showstopper.

There were more than straight stripes to entertain the eye at the spring shows. Sportmax and 3.1 Phillip Lim offered inside-the-box motifs and Miuccia Prada paraded huge hue-less florals down the Milanese catwalk. The all-over print explosions at Diane von Furstenburg and Chloé were akin to Rorschach inkblot tests – in a very sane way.

Balmain brought Latin flare to Paris with a memorable collection worthy of any matador. Models stomped the stage in cubic boleros and black-and-white checkered pants reminiscent of Cuban ceramic tile to iterate Olivier Rousteing’s Caribbean interpretation. Ralph Lauren’s Spanish-inspired line might have bordered on costumey, but those scarves and serapes would suit Seville just fine.

Easy, breezy lounge living flowed from the languid lines at Narciso Rodriguez, Céline and Anthony Vaccarello, whereas Diesel Black Gold and Alexander Wang’s warrior women channeled 90s punk rock and “Tron-like” cutouts respectively.

Can’t decide what bold look in which to beguile this spring? Steal the show in a black-and-white, tie-dyed Miu Miu fur stole.

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