Professional Insider:Trend Spotting

Influences from around the globe show up across the U.S.

The global village is thriving. While other nations decry the pollution of their cultures with American influence, the storied domestic melting pot continues to simmer with a pastiche of global trends. Style notes from different cultures show up in clothing, jewelry, accessories and home furnishings.

Far and Near Eastern influences are felt most keenly. Vogue featured interpretations of kimonos on socialites and supermodels and predicts the trend will intensify following the release of Steven Spielberg's upcoming film treatment of the best-selling novel Memoirs of a Geisha.

Cutting-edge lifestyle retailer Anthropologie exemplifies the embrace of Eastern styles for spring and summer. Intricate beading and stitching accent women's clothing and home furnishings. You can set your table with placemats made of Indian sari fabric backed with cotton and trimmed with silk. That table might be handcarved and come from Thailand.

Pottery Barn, which demonstrates a canny knack for mainstreaming designs from other cultures, mixes a riot of rattan and wallop of wicker into its more traditional French and English influences.

The Jewelry
This is not a formal or overly precise fashion movement, so jewelry for women following this trend should be steered away from shiny statement jewelry. Because of the Asian influences, pearls are a no-brainer, but maybe not the conservative round graduated strand. Baroque and potato pearls will create a more harmonious palette. Precious metals will look best on a smaller scale, in hammered, brushed and matte finishes. Pieces featuring ruby and its lookalikes, jade and other green gems, as well as purple and yellow gems play off the Indonesian fabrics and feel. Because of the intricate stitching and high collars on some tops and dresses, small earrings and gemstone bracelets and rings will complement these pieces.

– by Liz Smutko

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