Trend Analysed

Using www.wordle.net, the Warrior Chic blogposts have been reviewed and this is the outcome of text analysis:

Lifestyle

The Warrior Chic trend comes from the war lifestyle that the warriors would have to adopt. Surviving in a destroyed city scape battleground and surviving the elements. The pictures below describe different lifestyle elements of the warrior trend.

Violent old school rap and hip hop like 50 Cent will be listened to.

Destroyed cities will be the battleground of the war so the warriors will constantly be in places like this.

Man made shelter will be the housing for individual warriors rather than armies that share bunkers.

Apparel will need to be practical so that the warriors can move around the cities.

Music like Missy Elliot will also be popular amongst the edgy but violent subculture.

Hair & Makeup

Hair:

The hairstyle for both men and women of Warrior Chic will be practical yet shaggy. There will not be beauty treatment readily available and the war style will make the hair fair wavy and messy whilst staying off the face. Hair colour will be natural, or if coloured you will be able to see the roots clearly growing out from the amount of time that it has been left uncoloured.

Makeup:

Makeup for the Warrior Chic trend will be metallic and armoured looking. It will be mainly gold and silver colours with materials like foil/leafing used as well as actual metal plates around the eyes. (As seen in the Gareth Pugh A/W11 show).

Medal of Honor

Throughout history the warrior or soldier has always received medals as a recognition of their bravery and/or success. This will not change in 2014, although because the end of the world will mean a breakdown of society the medals will be made from more extravagant material. They will be stolen gems and coins from various places stuck onto the warriors uniforms. The decorative jewels will also be seen on the gloves and hand protection. Warrior Chic will incorporate complex chain structures and cover the hand in various ways using plates.

Feature One: Medal

The old style of medals will be reworked with stolen gems and coins. As warriors kill one another they will collect the medals that that warrior war, it will be like a trophy piece of jewellery. 

Feature Two: Hand Wear

The Warrior Chic trend subscribers will wear heavy armoured hand wear. As shown in the top picture below the armoured plated gloves will feature studs, gems and diamonds to modernise the old style of glove. There will also be plated hand wear seen below which will incorporate chains for a layered style. 

Beat the Cold

Warrior Chic is not just about high fashion plate accessories and the like, I want to incorporate an element of practicality with the trend. Obviously when the warriors are at war they will not simply travel to a hotel or apartment to stay for the night; The warriors will need heavy layering and thick materials like fur to help keep warm. Because the trend is based in present day, and not in the passed where synthetic materials do not exist, all the 'fur' mentioned will be faux!

Feature One: Fur

Faux fur will be worked into every piece of clothing, like how cavemen used to cover themselves in fur to keep warm the warrior chic trend subscribers will also layer themselves with natural looking furs. Different coloured furs will be layered on top of one another to create a warm and practical look.

Feature Two: Knitted Under Garments

To layer up in the cold weather, the warrior chic trend will adopt thin knitwear worn as a base under layer, with armour or fur on top. The Knitwear will cover the main areas of the body but leave the arms bare for easy movement.

Armour Amour

Men and women in the Warrior Chic trend will be almost identical, and each feature of the trend will apply to both genders. The trend will not be anything like typical androgyny, yet it is androgynous in the sense that there is no distinct gender.

Armour and protection is a key part of this trend and will create the focal point of each individual outfit.

Feature One: Chain mail

This trend is based on the typically traditional styles of knights and warriors. Chainmail featured in every armoured suit as it is so strong and seemingly impenetrable. The drawback of chain mail is the sheer weight of the metal. Now that materials have had advancements and can be manipulated easier, the chain mail is a lot lighter and can be easily worn. The material will be used in any way in this trend, as it is purely the material that is the feature, rather than a specific garment.

Feature Two: Body Plates


Body plates are another regular feature of old time warrior armour. The Warrior Chic trend adopts the body plate style as accessories rather than part of main body wear. Currently, in 2012, body chains are a feature trend for early adopters of fashion and are becoming more mainstream, this body plates will be displayed and worn in a similar way.

Origins

The name 'Warrior Chic' describes one of my 3 main trends for 2014. All 3 trends take basis from the post on the home page, the prediction that World War 3 will bring the end of the world as we know it. This trend within that theme focuses on the war part itself. Looking back over hundreds of years you can see the development in army and warrior apparel.

The armour of knights and warriors initially consisted of heavy metals, canvas base clothing, helmets and swords. As wars became harder, faster and more populated, the uniforms of armies needed to be altered to accommodate different needs. The heavy and impractical metal armour was ditched for khaki camouflage cotton, the knights headpieces were exchanged for smaller lighter reinforced helmets and the heavy swords were swapped for plastic and metal guns.

Because of advancements in technology and smart materials, it is now possible to have lightweight but strong metal. The newer styles of uniform are good for gun fight and quick manoeuvring, yet if they were to come in contact with a sword they are likely to fail. The trend will heavily feature chainmail, body and chest plates, armour pads and other metal defence wear. Realistically the metallic protection used in war is more effective than plastic or material and because of material development, these types of apparel will be easier to use.

The end of the world will also mean that shelters and barracks are likely to be destroyed, so my predicted 'Warrior Chic' trend will incorporate things needed to realistically survive. For example, faux fur will be a heavy feature of the trend. Real fur will not be used as a main resource, the army uniforms are made before war and faux fur is readily available in modern society. 

This kind of concept has been touched on recently in high fashion and also pop culture. For example, (without being tacky) Beyonce's video for her recent song 'who run da world' features many of the elements I predict for my trend, just in a more mainstream and popular way. 

My vision of warrior chic is more authentic, my vision of Warrior Chic see's the styles in a destroyed battle field of a destroyed society. The various elements of this trend will be displayed in the forthcoming posts on this page.