Things that come to mind when you hear the word “classic”: a little black dress, pumps, a crisp button-down shirt, and black and white. The monochrome fashion trend has proved its longevity, but that hasn’t stopped designers coming up with new ways to make it feel fresh.
The beauty of monochrome clothing is that it’s seen everywhere, from street style to ready-to-wear to couture. The perfect palette for experimentation, monochrome is seen on the runways as a means to explore texture, pattern, and shape.
Asymmetry
Streetwear queen Rihanna made her designer debut at New York fashion week with her FENTY x PUMA collaboration, and stuck to a monochrome palette for her first runway. The workout-inspired line is as sultry as it is sporty, practically inspiring us to abandon all of our brightly printed leggings.
Vera Wang showcased more subtle asymmetry for in her Fall 2016 collection. Long black skirts had belt details on one hip, deep slits, and were paired with layered black and white tops with uneven shoulder details.
Color-blocking
Monochrome clothing is a signature of Narciso Rodriguez, who has covered nearly all of the patterns and structures imaginable in recent collections. For Fall 2016, the line had asymmetrically color-blocked pieces in a monochrome palette, accented by black mesh inserts.
Lanvin’s sculptural separates for Spring 2016 were refreshing monochrome fashion and a lesson in great color-blocking for both the monochrome trend and bright shades.
Menswear has also featured prominent color-blocking. The Kenzo Spring 2017 men’s show opened with models in monochrome color-blocked jackets, also present in the show by Tim Coppens.
Polka dots
Monochrome polka dots of all sizes were prominent on the Resort 2017 catwalk. Emilio Ungaro seems to have created the new polka dot pattern with some of the pieces in his Resort 2017 collection, with large white circles embroidered with their own polka dots and fading to black, interspersed with smaller metallic dots.
Calvin Klein and Michael Kors showed easy day dresses in monochrome dots. Zac Posen and Oscar de la Renta opted for softer fabrics and evening gown silhouettes, while Carolina Herrera paired her polka dots with flirty details like full skirts, deep necklines, and cut-outs.
In a departure from the funky dots in the world of resort wear, Valentino’s Fall 2016 couture runway featured long, Elizabethan-inspired coats with oblong monochrome dots.
Geometric prints
The monochrome fashion trend easily lends itself to patterns, especially clean-lined geometric ones. Victoria Beckham had a few romantic houndstooth pieces at her Fall 2017 show; she softened the structured pattern by turning it into voluminous skirts. Her pieces show that geometric monochrome prints work both in a head-to-toe look and as accent pieces.
Valentino’s Fall 2015 runway show opened with a black and white coat in a mash up of stripes, squares, and triangles that melded into one cohesive pattern. The black and white check seen in Valentino’s pattern has been spotted again in a number of Resort 2017 shows, including Marc Jacobs and Altuzarra.
The patterns don’t need to stop at your clothes, Giambattista Valli sent a black and white bouclé suit down the runway with the model sporting a small handbag with three different monochrome prints on it.
Stripes
Skinny or chunky, horizontal or vertical, stripes are a monochrome staple, and designers of late have taken to giving us stripes with unexpected angles or mismatching lines.
Before she served romantic houndstooth, Victoria Beckham swirled very oversized stripes around an asymmetric skirt and top for fall 2015. Emilio Pucci is yet another designer who couldn’t pick just one monochrome trend, this time at Milan fashion week: his monochrome dresses had asymmetrical shoulders and hemlines but the mismatched monochrome stripes were the focal point of the pieces.
Monochrome stripes were common at Edun’s runway shows during the reign of Danielle Sherman from 2014 to 2016. The Spring 2016 macramé take on the monochrome fashion trend is perfect for summer, especially with the addition of silky fringe at the hemlines and pocket detail. The zig-zag stripes are almost reminiscent of an animal print, and perfectly accentuating the body's curves.