By Molly Donnellon
Throwing practicality to the wind, sleeveless outerwear is making a comeback for Spring ’15, as shown in various collections presented at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. However, this isn’t your average tough-chick-with-frayed-edges look. Designers have focused on tailored outerwear pieces that just happen to be sans sleeves (and perfect for layering).
Zimmermann does its take on the classic tan trench, giving it an extra laid back quality when paired with an airy floor length dress underneath. At the Academy of Art‘s presentation of graduate collections, designer Wei Bei completely a head-to-toe summer white look with a sleeveless tuxedo style jacket that falls to the knee. Panels hanging over the shoulders and pockets at the waist provide some unexpected details that really add some originality to the trend.
The most classic representation of arm-less outerwear is presented in Zang Toi‘s American Dream themed 25th anniversary collection. The show’s opening look featured a shiny moto style jacket over black and white layered tees. Its below-the-waist length takes the piece away from vest territory and more toward what one may constitute as being simply a sleeveless jacket.
It very well may be that this trend will be extremely successful come spring. Arm-less jackets work well for layering pieces on top of one another, which would be especially useful in the early months of March and April when the bitter New York winter might just be starting to let up. As far as practicality is concerned, I doubt that Zimmermann‘s sleeveless trench will keep you dry in the rain, but you may just have to invest in an umbrella instead. This emerging trend will promote versatility in its wearer and would be effective in calm neutrals as well as found in wild prints, which we will likely see produced by fast fashion retailers sooner than we expect.
