Literally everyone has heard modern terms from the world of fashion and the fashion industry. All kinds of collaborations, cruise and capsule collections, ready-to-wear and haute couture flooded advertising posters, magazine pages and store signs. So, capsule collections are very popular today, they are created by famous designers for certain brands or celebrities for fashion houses. But what does the capsule collection mean and what is hidden behind this name?
Term history
He came to us from the English language, it is called the Capsule collection. This is a line of things or accessories, limited to 10-15 items, sometimes a different amount. All items are made in the same style and are combined with each other. As a rule, capsules are created by guest designers or show business stars in addition to the main seasonal collection of the brand.
For the first time such a capsule was launched by the London Wardrobe boutique in the 70s of the last century. Its owner, Susie Fo, came up with the idea of ​​creating a small collection of basic things that would blend perfectly with each other and complemented with trendy items from the main designer collections. Around the same time, designer Emmanuel Kahn created something similar - a small designer collection for the La Redoute clothing catalog.
This idea was picked up by fashion designer Donna Karan. In 1985, her first capsule collection for the office was presented. She had only 7 items of clothing: skirts, trousers, dresses. Models that initially deflated only in body and pantyhose gradually showed the entire collection, changing the same objects in different combinations and demonstrating their interchangeability.
This idea was liked by both designers and their customers, and soon almost every fashion house had its capsule collections.
What is a capsule collection of clothes in the modern sense?
If initially the capsule was more like trying to offer a woman a basic wardrobe for a specific case, today this concept is used more widely. These are several items of clothing, united by one theme or idea. The capsule collection is created to attract new customers, advertise and promote the brand.
For this, brands, for example, invite pop artists or actors who bring their vision to the collection. Often, brands from the mass market segment attract eminent luxury designers to create capsules. This allows the middle class to get the usually inaccessible thing from a famous designer. Or a fashion house oriented to certain customers with a conservative taste, invites a young novice designer to create a youthful and daring collection, which will ultimately attract new customers loyal to the brand. Sometimes, several creative people combine to create a capsule, then this is most often called collaboration.
Often, the occasion for creating a capsule collection can be some special event or an important date. They determine the general mood of the entire line.
Vivid examples in the fashion world
Among all the above options for capsule collections, one can distinguish the most famous and popular, namely those that became legends, and things from them are bought up in an instant.
If we talk about the collaborations of cult designers with democratic brands, then we can not help but recall shoe designer Jimmy Chu, who created an extremely popular capsule collection of sheepskin boots with stones and rhinestones for the brand Ugg of Australia. H&M stores that produce goods in the mass market category regularly present capsules from haute couture designers: Versace, Karl Lagerfeld, and Lanwan.
Stars also often become guest designers and create their capsules under the auspices of a fashion brand or fashion house. So, singer Rihanna - often appears as a designer. Her recent works include capsules for River Island, the Puma sports brand, and collaboration with the shoe brand Manolo Blahnik. Long and fruitful is the collaboration of Kate Moss and Topshop. She not only advertises brand clothes, but also creates collections for him.
If we recall the capsules dedicated to the anniversaries, then the April Rain collection, dedicated to the 155th anniversary of the Burberry fashion house, was undoubtedly successful. In these things, bright colors added a twist to the brand’s familiar design. Marc Jacobs also came up with an interesting capsule for the 10th anniversary of his brand. It includes the best models created by the designer for all 10 years.
We also note unusual capsules, for example, recently the Moschino brand released a collection designed for Barbie dolls! And collaborations sometimes surprise us with their unexpected meetings, for example: a clothing collection from the Danish brand Wood Wood and Disney or a brand of lingerie Tezenis and Coca-Cola. It seems that in the modern world of fashion, nothing is impossible.
Capsule collections in Russian fashion
Russian designers and brands are not far behind global trends. So, Ulyana Sergienko periodically produces, in addition to the main collections, seasonal capsules in order to diversify the choice of images and present something unusual that goes beyond the main line of her clothes.
Famous Russian designers as well as foreign colleagues make affordable capsule collections for budget brands. Among the most interesting are Igor Chapurin’s projects for Incity, Katy Dobryakova and Sultanna Frantsuzova’s capsules for “Yours”, Ampir and “Bird of Happiness” collections for Alena Akhmadullina for Faberlic, and Evelina Khromtchenko’s capsule collection for Econika.
Excellent mass collaboration is also obtained from the domestic mass market and pop stars. Of the latter, Vera Brezhneva’s collection for the PE brand, Keti Topuria and Ksenia Borodina capsules.
How to use a capsule in a wardrobe
Things from the capsule collection will fit perfectly into your image, if you remember the rules for creating the perfect wardrobe. Take only those things that really suit you, do not chase fashion and trends. If the model from the capsule is trendy, take a look at the clothes from the main collection of the same brand - you can usually pick up basic items that perfectly accentuate the fashionable detail. And if you bought a thing from the capsule of a famous designer, and this is a basic item of good quality wardrobe, do not rush to throw it out after a season. Fashion is cyclical, and this model can be combined with items from other collections.