What does it mean to be a fashion icon? Fashion is the art of blending designs and fabrics together, all of which are often influenced by culture, society and architectural surroundings. A fashion designer brings those elements together to create a masterpiece. A fashion icon takes that art and turns it into a trend. It’s all about taking risks and they often showcase ever-lasting style.
Speaking of ever-lasting style, Charlie Brown, the beloved cartoon character from the comic strip Peanuts, has left his mark in the fashion industry. Yes, you heard me – Charlie Brown! Charlie’s iconic canary yellow t-shirt with its bold zigzag pattern inspired several collections on the runway this fall.
Alexander Wang was just one of the fashion greats who was inspired by Charlie Brown and he showcased his collection at Brooklyn Fashion. While most of his collection was sporty chic, with large coats, and walking boots dominating his collection, he also had suede, shearling and silk windbreakers, all in lovely shades of grey. Charlie Brown, however, was still the talk of the town. In the milieu of grey, Wang introduced a yellow/ gray zigzag print shirt dress paired with outdoor boots. You know Charlie Brown’s made it when he’s inspired Alexander Wang!
Charlie Brown also peaked out in the Bottega Veneta Fall collection. A gray turtle neck was paired with Charlie Brown-esque yellow skirt, featuring the unmistakable zigzag pattern at the waist. Another piece had sectioned black, white and yellow in the Charlie Brown’s signature zigzags. Overall, Tomas Maier’s fall collection is a work of art as Maier played with different materials, piecing them together to create vertical and diagonal color blocked patterns, which accentuates the female body. He also experimented with a variety of colors to create a unique mood.
Prada and Emilio Pucci also got a piece of the Charlie Brown action and each put their own twist on it. Prada played up a version of the signature zigzag pattern. The collection featured a black sweater vest with chevron stripes in yellow. Emilio Pucci incorporated the zigzag stripes without the signature yellow on a long sexy brown dress.
Charlie Brown is not the only member from Peanuts who made his way onto the runway. Woodstock, Snoopy’s friend, was also all over the runway, making his debut in Fay’s fall collection! A gray sweater with images of Woodstock tucked into a yellow skirt paired with an oversized wool scarf was seen on the runway. Max Mara also had Woodstock in their silk vest, yellow blouse and skirt combo.
When one generally thinks of fashion icons, names like Marilyn Monroe, Audrey Hepburn, Kate Moss, Madonna, Cindy Crawford generally come to mind and these women have worn that title for numerous generations.
It looks like our childhood pal, Charlie Brown is now carrying that torch! His renowned yellow and bold pattern was an unexpected source of inspiration for the fashion industry this fall, showing us that fashion is never predictable and is all about the risks. So next time you’re deciding what to wear, take some risks! Fashion icons all create their own rules and Charlie Brown once said, “If you don’t like their rules, whose would you use?”