One detail is popping up on all runways for winter 2012-13, and it is the return of the patch pocket: a bit of rectangular cloth or skin that is placed on the surface of the garment. Bold, graphic and functional these pockets that are roughly patched on the front or side of the garments are standing out and grabbing attention. Especially since the designers are using all tricks to make them prominent. They are underlining the pockets with piping and binding, they are giving them volume with bellows which make them even more frontal and dimensional. The pockets are in patent on leather or in leather on tweed, in denim on pattern or in pattern on pattern. It is a new functional feature that will allow us women to once again put our hands in our pockets, further re-emancipating our behaviour.

The reign of the dress as the sole form of seduction will be broken and abdicated in favour of separates with structure, empowered with patched pockets to make the point and voluminous business bags to go to work or party.

The Burberry collection by Christopher Bailey for next autumn/winter is all constructed by and around the pockets that are patched on and almost floating giving a peplum- power to shape. This daring use of pockets is going to be an incentive to other designers to follow the lead for next spring/summer. After all summer is all about let go and easy style and therefore the pockets will express this perfectly; safari pockets, military pockets, naval pockets, shirting pockets and all other pockets you can think of. A pocket of ideas to reveal a change of time. To be continued...

Lidewij Edelkoort

Patch pockets are also featured in our Key trend book for autumn / winter 2013-14, available through your local Trend Union agent.

Nathalie Costes is a gifted person who creates magical handmade accessories, her new collection is a variation of poetic and sensitive collars and cuffs crocheted with cotton thread. After managing a workshop pretty heavy to lacquer wooden beads, her previous collection was necklaces, she felt a need for lightness and to reconnect with the pleasure to work almost anywhere. Trend Tablet caught up with Nathalie Costes for an exclusive interview.

Why did you choose to create collars? Perhaps because I have a long neck and I always looked for a way to dress it up ! With the reappearance of "cols claudine" in many collections, I wanted to reappropriate this accessory in my own way.

How do you work? I have a fairly obsessive way of working, with a tendency to focus my attention on one single product. Treat the simplicity and the obvious: ensure that when you see the finished article, you can say that it was obvious.

Is crochet a technic you already knew? Thanks to my sister, I learned how to master it when I was ten years. It is a childish pleasure seeing a spool of thread take another form with just one single tool.The pleasure to make and unmake in the simplest way and to hold your atelier in your bag ! These are the pleasures of the crochet !

What kind of materials do you like to use? Cotton is very logical to me since it is ductile to all my whims. You just change working technique to make the material more stiff, starched, or more softer. It is a true friend and it loves both complicated points and smooth aspects. The collar in cotton also fits and looks great on every garment: a simple t-shirt, a silk dress, a  masculine shirt, or a wool sweater. I do of course not exclude the use of other materials such as the alpaca, wool and more rustic, like the leather thong...

Evolution drives us forward to the unknown future. Naturally, we keep on moving, but to make truly new and genuine creations, we should search our roots to understand how we have reached to the present life. Recently I've seen a similar approach within the design field in Japan. It is all about finding the tradition.

On April 26th, a new space opened just next to Shibuya station. It is called Hikarie, like a normal department store it has a food market, cosmetics and fashion floors. What distinguishes them is the office space they offer nomadic workers to share. On this floor, there is a gallery that shows traditional products (including old crafts and daily products) from all over Japan. Mr. Kenmei Nagaoka, the representative of D & Department, has selected them with purpose of showing the character and beauty of each region and of introducing them to newer markets. When designing, he works with a vision of “long life design”, and in his recent projects he has been trying to find the quality of each region and reserve them for the future. In this new exhibition space called Nippon Vision, charming pieces gives you an idea what Japanese design is about.

Also on April 26, a new exhibition started in 21_21:“Tema-Hima” (having spent much time to create).

Mr. Naoto Fukazawa and Mr. Taku Sato have selected traditional crafts and food from Tohoku (north part of Japan where the Tsunami caused damage last year). Simply displayed products, from iron pots to dried food, allows us to reflect about sustainable products and one-day products, the difference between fast and slow.

What I found interesting is that these two factors happen at the same time.There are several ways we can understand these activities. Some say it is a craft boom, some say it is the influence of last year’s disaster. We don’t know the reason, but I believe we naturally want to touch something real, something very tactile and something that stays for long, maybe this is the counterpoint of fast products.

Kaori Leyasu

Anke Domaske — a German born, biochemist and fashion designer— is the inventor of an award-winning new textile made entirely from milk. Called “Qmilch,” it drapes and folds like silk, but can be washed and dried like cotton. The fabric is also eco-friendly and a wonderful solution for people with skin allergies.

Qmilch – a combination of quality and the German word for milk – won the innovation award of Germany's Textile Research Association, which recognized it as a new, sustainable fiber that could revolutionize the clothing industry. After two years of trial and error in a research lab, Domaske and her team of six finally created a process of reducing milk to a protein powder that is then boiled and pressed into strands that can be woven into a fabric.

According to Domaske, the strands can be spun rougher for a heavier texture, or shiny smooth, to create a soft jersey feel. She uses only organic milk that cannot be consumed because it has failed Germany's strict quality standards.

By reducing waste and our reliance on byproducts from oil, and other indispensable resources such as water, Domaske’s work promises greener fashion and a greener future.

Beth Lauck

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This is the new social game where everyone at a dinner party, gathering or happy hours has to stack their phone and relinquish the habit of texting, tweeting, browsing etc… the first weak-willed participant who can’t resist and breaks the commitment by picking us their phone pays the bill.

The staking game was first spotted in California: a hip hop dancer by the name of lil B is taking credit for this invention, it is also called “Don’t be a Dick during Meals”. How about that for social respect. ... and well, aren’t addictions best fought by paying the high price?

Emmanuelle Linard

VIENNA June 4 - DUSSELÖRF June 5 - BERLIN June 6 - PARIS June 8 - BASEL June 14 -

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The Centre Pompidou-Metz presents the first major exhibition in France dedicated to the work of Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec.This exhibition sets out the result of almost fifteen years of mutual collaboration. It illustrates the current state of their designs and research, in constant evolution. Until 13 July.

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