Stripes get star billing on the catwalks

As stripes line up on the fashion catwalks— thanks to designers like Lacoste and DKNY— there’s one big difference in their application: designers are altering how they’re typically aligned.

It’s a novel approach that looks a little like Jenga blocks lined up on fabric and at the same time positively addresses how striped garments impact on the perception of body shape.

We all know the fashion rule that even the most slender of figures can look more substantial with horizontal stripes, making the wearer seem wider and even the application of long verticals — believed to create the illusion of slimness — can create a blink-inducing dazzle that makes you more aware of the garment than the wearer.

All of that has changed this year though, as stripes are now represented in these short bands and dashes, with the stalwart of stripe combinations — blue and white — replaced by eclectic combinations of colour.

As with all trends, no sooner are they paraded along the catwalk that we find them in home interior products.As pattern goes, stripes are quite energising in a space if you go for a bright colour in your mix.

They can also give a lift where décor is dull or washed out, especially at this time of year when everything is a little yellow from open fires.

Stick with black and white if you have a sober interior that’s short on colour and is a more classic approach to décor rather than trend driven.

For the more eclectic interior, go for colour and choose for impact and the feeling you want to create. Red is daring, green has vitality.

Keep wide stripes and the chevron effect for smaller items like cushions, small scatter rugs and throws, as they can overwhelm your environment and detract from everything else unless you have a very big room to dilute the effect.

Large scale rugs carry off stripes brilliantly and can transform a space, but take time to really stare at them in the shop for several minutes before buying to make sure they don’t have that headache-inducing effect.

It will also help to avoid the mistake I made in opting for a stripe that lifted the look of my room dramatically, but later while I sat watching the television I was constantly distracted by the dazzle out of the side of my eye and promptly lost the plot.

But there is an advantage to the dazzle effect if you’re not sitting with it and trying to focus on something else. Stripes can create a sense of movement which adds another dimension to your interior.

A novel aspect of stripy trends this season is the application of other shapes, like triangles and diamonds which are formed into bands to give them the appearance of stripes.

It’s more subtle but it means the stripes can be interpreted on the diagonal as well as vertical or horizontal.

Bold stripes in equally bold colours will also add texture without taking from the minimal look when applied to a sparsely decorated and furnished room, especially if confined to one item like a rug, or a paint application to a single wall.

Not only does it add visual interest but it keeps the eye travelling around the room. n Next week Carol O’Callaghan talks to Eleanor Harpur, curator of ‘Showcase - Ireland’s Creative Expo’.