Summer Loving in Nutopia

Summer is back and her aroma of love and romance flutters in the air and infecting us all.

This is why I am falling for this “Nutopia” colour palette. A name so fitting I feel the need to explain why this palette heightens my excitement for this summer. When you think of Utopia, most of us think of cool warm beach colours. What I love about this summer’s palette choices is that the muted colours are dominant. Have you ever felt like wearing bright colours makes it feel a lot hotter than it really is? I am excited to see a warm, but muted colour scheme.

The idea of doing muted colours in summer is a great because it allows the right amount of colour one needs for summer, yet gives off that cooling effect. This will also translate into the season’s textiles. Although the tight fit silhouette from spring will transfer into summer, the fabrication will be a lot more breathable. Colour denims are all but obsolete, this summer is about find the perfect fit not the perfect colour as opposed to last summer.

The oversized trend, which includes your oversized tees, muscle tees and tanks and that boyfriend Jeans you just got. This trend is for the funky woman who is more concerned with breathability and a new kind of sexy. The fitted trend is for the more feminine woman, who has been waiting all winter to flaunt her curves. This trend consists of; the fitted maxi dressed, printed pencil skirts and sleek summer midriff tops. The last trend is a mixture of the two trends. The idea will be to mix match the trends like wearing you boyfriend Jeans with a tight midriff top. It is definitely not the easiest trend to pull off, but it is done right, it’s utter perfection.

There is something very modern about being vintage and that in itself is the best fashion paradox. With that said; say hello to Laurens Loux Gebhart known as ‘Loux the Vintage Guru’.

Now, this man is no stranger to Namibia’s fashion scene and his style has set a tone in the industry. I absolutely love his mini summer collection with full use of the Nutopia palette, which is a mixture of assorted blues and dusty burnt oranges in the print he chose. My favourite piece is the sleeveless denim shirt with the African print trimming on the armhole and the collar. The well thought out integration of denim is the collection is plain genius. This is the perfect illustration of the modern nomad because it gives you the feeling that the person wearing these clothes is an explorer in their own right.

The whole concept behind the Nutopia is this nostalgic idea of being a bohemian free spirit and Laurens has captured the essence of this notion and has, in doing so, brought Africanism into 2013. There lies true romance in freedom and wilderness. What I love about this collection is that the designer set to make a clear statement; this summer is about Vintage Africanism, bringing back that old school African print to life.