The Clash of the Titans

My favourite two collections of this season were Dries Van Noten and Gucci. While, at first, it seemed that they didn't have much in common, upon closer inspection all the prints in both collections had an ethnic vibe running through them. Dries Van Noten played around with clashing Batik and West African-like prints, while Gucci went a little more geometric with a native American/Aztec feeling. It looked refreshing, playful and modern to mix and match everything. As you can see from the Dries Van Noten catwalk pictures, it's okay to clash everything; prints, colours, fabrics and cultures. But this being Dries Van Noten, everything was beautifully tasteful.

At the graduate shows at the Royal College of Art last year, the students there played around with mixing patterns and prints. I think the rule is to match the strength and power of contrasting colours and prints. Don't do wishy washy on the top and strong on the bottom, they need to balance each other out. Equally strong.

Marni, Trussardi 1911 and Givenchy too looked to other cultures to inspire colours and prints in their collections. Trussardi 1911 did lots of ethnically printed carpet bags and Givenchy did strong geometrically T-shirts.

Dries Van Noten Spring/Summer 2010

Dries Van Noten Shirt - £207

www.antonioli.eu

Gucci Spring/Summer 2010

Gucci Prea jacquard tapestry Voile lined palma jacket - £1150

www.gucci.com

Gucci Printed Shirt - £275

www.matchesfashion.com

Old Curiosity Shop Shorts - £325

www.oki-ni.com