STREET STYLE TREND ALERT: SEVENTIES BOHEMIA

Posted by Fashion Junior at Large

Here at FEAL HQ, each season we devote ourselves to analysing catwalk trends until we know them inside out. However, every now and then a certain style will become the look of the season, and have very little to do with the catwalk at all.

It has become clear that Summer 2011 will be the season of the Seventies, but not the colour-popping, grown up glamour of the Studio 54 styles that swished down the runway. Instead, there is a huge movement towards the scruffy, rocky, fringy, Stevie Nicks-y and maybe even bohemian-y look of the Seventies Woodstock chick. Yes, you did just see the word 'boho', but fear, we are not stuck in a 'Sienna Miller circa 2006' timewarp (a scary thought indeed). 

 

 The original queen of rock chick bohemia: Stevie Nicks

This is a decidedly darker, more mysterious take on hippy-trippy chic; we might be wearing flowers in our hair, but we'll also have thickly smudged black eyes and layers of leather, velvet and at least one item with serious fringing. Navajo details - turquoise, suede, beading - all play a key role.

Personally, I knew something was up when I had an uncontrollable urge to bid for this beaded, fringed kimono on eBay...

Now, you could blame this street style trend on our perennial love affair with free spirited music festivals and a desire to rebel against a frankly depressing state of affairs this year. However there is a more obvious culprit, who goes by the name of Topshop. Yep, the high street dictators have once again come up with the most covetable collections. What's more, they have seemingly gone against the catwalk grain - and it's working incredibly well. 

Topshop's 'Snake Valley' is exactly where we wanna be.

Smart people, those Topshoppers; they took the grains of Seventies catwalk inspiration, and have transformed it into what we all want to wear. Their behind the scenes film from the SS11 shoot sums up the Stevie Nicks feeling perfectly.

So it seems the scene has been set. Time to dig out those fringed kimonos, kohl pencils and snakeskin hotpants (maybe). No matter how you look at it, it seems bohemia is back.

Images: Stevie Nicks, Huffington Post, George Langford, Topshop