How Has Craft Influenced Fashion? By Stylist Samantha Woodbury

We are pleased to be welcoming back Samantha Woodbury, personal stylist. This is part two of four, so you will remember her last guest blog sharing tips for making a great first impression. This time she will be getting crafting, sharing her insight into how the arts and craft industry has merged with the fashion world.

Gem: Hi Samantha, welcome back to the Mayinspire blog. As you know, we teach crafts to adults, and one of these is embroidery. I know embroidery passes into the fashion scene a lot. Can you tell us about any embroidery trends, or other crafts which feature in fashion?

Samantha:

As a former textile student I love embroidery and any kind of fabric embellishment to be honest. Embroidery has a special place in my heart, as it was something that my mother taught me when I was a little girl. This summer embroidery is just one of the craft-influenced trends that we will see across the high street, alongside macramé, open knit, crochet work and of course tie dye.

Embroidery this season comes in many forms, including cutwork embroidery, tone on tone single colour stitching on sheers, mesh and poplin style fabrics and bright crewel style embroidery in botanical and tribal patterns. The biggest and most prevalent trend is embroidery smocking. You will be hard pushed to find a store that doesn’t have a smocked, a shirred midi dress or peasant top, styled alongside a puff sleeve, a milk maid or square neckline.

Click image to see more. Image sources:

1. Zara.com 'Shirt with Embroidered Collar' Colour Sea green | 1821/021

2. Zara.com 'Embroidered Shirt' Colour Oyster White | 5107/064

3. Stories.com 'Embroidered Collar Puff Sleeve Cotton Blouse'

In addition to this we have the rise of the statement collar, in a shape that we haven’t seen since the late 1970s early 80’s, and many of these feature both cutwork embroidery, dainty lazy daisy stitching, cross stitch trims and pretty embroidered borders. The whole vibe of embroidery this Spring Summer is a little bit folksy with a definite boho vibe.

Macramé has been a trend that has grown in the interiors market for a few years, but this season we are seeing it used in dresses, bags and jewellery across the catwalk by designers such as Alberta Ferretti, Fendi and Valentino. Other designers such as Stella McCartney, Zimmerman and Chanel used crochet, lace and open knit to create the ‘netted’ trend that was strong on the catwalks this season. This is a trend that is quite young, and I don’t expect it to really hit the high street until next year, but it is certainly something to look out for.

Click image to see more. Image sources:

1. Vogue.com 'Spring 2021 Accessories Trend Report', courtesy of Burberry.

2. Glowsly.com 'Spring Summer Fashion Trends', courtesy of Zimmermann.

3. Latestmagazine.net 'Milan Fashion Week Alberta Ferretti SS21', Alberta Ferretti.

Finally, we come to tie dye. We are already seeing a lot of this across the high street, especially in loungewear, but for Spring Summer it has taken on a slightly more sophisticated form. Christian Dior, Sportsmax and Gabriella Hearst are using more muted colour palettes and considered tie dye effects, such as stripes, placement tie dye and blended effects. Designers have been influenced by tribal fabric dying techniques across the catwalk and this can be seen in the embroidery trend as well.

Click image to see more. Image sources:

1. Runwaynew.com 'Christian Dior Spring Summer 2021', Christian Dior.

2. ModeRSVP.com 'Spring Summer 2021 Runway Trends Tie Dye, Sportmax

3. LOfficielUSA.com 'Tie Dye Fashion History 70s Trend, Gabriella Hearst Spring/Summer 2021

Many of these trends are starting to hit the high street now so keep your eyes peeled.

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Samantha Woodbury is a personal stylist based in Southampton, offering personal shopping, styling and wardrobe management services across Hampshire. Find out more about her affordable services at https://www.samanthawoodburystyling.com.