What even are Seasonal Collections?

Traditionally speaking, in fashion you wait for your favorite season to see what your favorite designers have come up with. Most people are either Fall/Winter style or Spring/Summer style. Fashion weeks come out in time to share new and exciting collections each season. The thing is, at BLKGLOW, we strive to create clothes that suit a life and not a season. As a brand with a different outlook, do we still need to follow the same seasonal rules as traditional brands? Are they arbitrary or is there some logic to them?

Let’s take a look at some of the traditional elements of each season;

SPRING/SUMMER:

Spring/Summer collections are first and foremost, meant for warmer weather. This obviously means that the fabrics themselves are more lightweight. There’s a lot more to this season than fabric weight and shorter styles. Besides being a time for light clothing in the practical sense, there tends to be a more metaphysical “lightness” to these collections as well. You get a lot more bright, bold colours, big flashy patterns and flowing cuts as well. As though the change in weather automatically means a change in your mood. I mean, I get that a lot of people start coming out of their deep-winter induced depression once the sun starts making an earlier appearance in the morning, but for me, I love black and I’m not about to stop wearing it just because the sun is trying to wake my ass up a little earlier.

FALL/WINTER:

Obviously Fall/Winter clothes are made for cooler weather, right? So you end up getting darker more muted colours OR jewel tones, and heavier fabrics. Along with that mood, you also get more structured/tailored garments as well as more “classical” patterns like pinstripes, plaids, and more subtle versions of dots or stripes. Besides that, you also get ALL THE SWEATERS. Also layers. So many layers. Some people find this dull. Some find it classy. Whatever your preference, these are your options for winter. Which is wonderful if you live in a cold climate, but really obnoxious if you live somewhere that never goes below 12*c even in the coldest months.

RESORT:

Unless you’re a total rich bitch, you’ll probably have no use for these collections. They’re for people who not only have the cash to pop off on an annual vacation, they also have enough to buy a SEPARATE WARDROBE for said vacations?! Like, who does this? Anyway, you get more casual styles here, pastel colours and of course, NAUTICAL THEMES. Because if you’re off for an adventure on your yacht, you want to dress accordingly. Screw these collections, eat the rich.

Of course, brands also come out with mini-collections throughout the year to keep people interested. You might see a holiday collection or a “pre-spring” collection or that kind of thing once in a while. All in an effort to keep consumers consuming as much as possible.

As you might have guessed, BLKGLOW doesn’t really fit in with these traditions, and you don’t have to either. Our aesthetic combines different elements from all the different seasons. Our colour palette tends to be more dark and muted, but we also prefer lightweight fabrics that can be layered if it gets chilly. Our garments are mostly casual because that’s what we like. As for structure vs drape, we haven’t really decided on that one, and most of the time we actually combine the two. Just wait until you see what we’re cooking up with our next collection!

Yes, it’s important to have a winter jacket in the winter and some cool shorts in the summer, but overall, it seems redundant in this day and age to put all that energy into creating multiple collections. The fact is, we are nearing the end of the age of “Fast Fashion”. Gen Z is not only concerned for the health and future of the planet, they are also approaching fashion in a new way. That’s not even taking into account that a large majority of people straight-up can’t afford to buy a new wardrobe every season.

Then you also have the fact that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way a lot of people work. With more time spent working from home, it makes sense to create a wardrobe that works within that framework. We’ve all seen the jokes about changing from “nighttime pj’s to daytime sweats”, but the fact is, this may be a legitimate direction for a lot of people in the near future. We’re discovering that a lot more work can be done from home than we thought possible. That’s going to push the boundaries of what “work attire” really means.

Of course you also have the fact that global warming is wreaking havoc just about everywhere in the world right now (I mean, take a look at poor Texas, they were totally unprepared!) In the frighteningly near future, having a year-round wardrobe that works well with layering depending on whatever unpredictable weather conditions happen to be outside tomorrow is going to be extremely important. It may sound like a paranoid, alarmist outlook, but go ask a scientist what they think. The statistics look pretty grim on that front.

So while you might not be ready to drop your seasonal clothing refresher (and I want to make it clear - we’re not saying you have to or even should!), but maybe think about making a deeper analysis of what you’re buying next time you’re out having some retail therapy. Look for quality and versatility over flash and trend, and think about whether that t shirt has multi-season potential.