Buyer’s Guide: Per Lei Couture

Per Lei Couture, which translates to “for her” in Italian, is one of Doha’s more recent luxury boutiques and true to its name, it has established itself as a one-stop shop for fashionable women. We caught up with the boutique’s buying manager, Karen Harries, to find out which trends we need to incorporate in our wardrobes and which accessories to stock up on. Having more than 15 years of experience in retail, Harries has a keen eye for selecting a mix of established brands as well as promising new labels that cater to our region’s tastes. The founder of the Boutiqueye buying agency spoke to Style.com/Arabia about the key Spring 2015 trends, her personal picks, and the season’s must-haves.

KEY SPRING 2015 TRENDS

3D Floral: Floral prints were firmly part of the Spring 2015 landscape, but it was the introduction of a 3D element that took the trend (quiet literally) into a new dimension. Simone Rochas, Giamba (the new line from Giambattista Valli), Jonathan Saunders, and Delpozo are among the brands that executed this 3D trend beautifully. I absolutely loved the supersize orchid top from Delpozo—not for the faint-hearted but undoubtedly the most iconic piece from the collection.

KEY SPRING 2015 TRENDS

Sports Luxe: There was a very strong sporty element weaving its way into the Spring 2015 collections, ranging from more obvious sporty shapes through to floaty dresses that were given an athletic makeover with sporty trims. Mesh and Lycra also played host to this new trend, with many brands juxtaposing lace with mesh inserts. Jonathan Simkhai really nailed this trend; I feel that his aesthetic will resonate really well with our younger customers who are often looking for something playful with a slightly more body-con element.

KEY SPRING 2015 TRENDS

Crop Tops: The crop top found its way into many collections, such as Tata Naka, Teatum Jones, and the more sophisticated collections—Delpozo and Jonathan Simkhai. The crop top, although not for everyone, is a chance for our customers to update their approach to eveningwear. For me, the standout outfit that reflected this trend was the white crop top teamed with a long white skirt from Delpozo—this look was an instant hit on our Instagram and we already have several customers on the waiting list.

KEY SPRING 2015 TRENDS

Architectural Shapes: Alongside the very feminine, delicate silhouettes that are usually native to the spring season, several designers embraced an architectural approach to shapes and silhouettes—like Delpozo whose designs always include sharp, angular, and oversized geometric shapes. I loved the yellow mini dress that almost looked slightly futuristic. Antonio Berardi also adopted a more angular approach to certain pieces this season; I loved the orange silk pants with the boxy silk gazar tunic.

KEY SPRING 2015 TRENDS

Transparency: Transparency played a large part this season, giving collections a much more sensual and flirty element. My favorite collection that embraced this trend was Erdem Spring 2015; its foliage and nature-inspired collection played host to many transparent pieces that only added to the tropical mood. I also loved Rocha’s dreamy and uber feminine dresses with sheer silks. Sandra Mansour also captured this trend, but injected some more directional shapes to offset the very feminine fabrics.

FAVORITE NEWCOMER

Marco de Vincenzo is undoubtedly one of the most exciting new brands to emerge in recent seasons. De Vincenzo's approach, not just in color but also cut and fabric, is both bold and uncompromising. His fringe detailing has fast become his signature style, combined with a strong color palette that looks set to rock the catwalks for the coming seasons. His unique aesthetic comes at a perfect time as Fall 2015 is seeing a huge revival of the 70’s fashion, a decade that played homage to fringe detailing. I predict a bright future for this emerging talent! While Delpozo is not a newbie on the fashion scene per say, I feel that the brand’s wonderful history and heritage has been invigorated recently by the appointment of Josep Font. It balances cutting edge designs with timeless elegance in a way that could almost be described as genius at times.

COLORS TO KEEP AN EYE ON

There were a few colors that seemed to standout last season, white being one of them. Not so surprising as it is summer season, but the color seemed even more prominent against the transparency and sports luxe trends. White is a timeless color and regardless of season or trend, adds freshness and elegance to any outfit.

THIS SEASON’S MUST-HAVES

There is no escaping the huge trend that we saw emerge for Spring 2015 and carry over into Fall 2015— the culottes. For those who like volume in their skirt, culottes provide a great alternative and give a slightly more modern twist to the silhouette. I love the gamine quality of culottes and how they make a slightly bolder statement yet still retain all the elegance of a full skirt.

KEY BUY FOR THE MIDDLE EAST

Anything from Sophia Webster—our customers adore these fun, playful shoes.

PERSONAL PICKS

The white crop top and long skirt with green stripe by Delpozo, Antonio Berardi’s orange pants with gazar tunic, Jonathan Simkhai’s lace crossover crop top teamed with the lace and mesh skirt, Preen’s lace dress with sport stripe trim, and anything from Erdem!

KEY ACCESSORIES OF THE SEASON

Sophia Webster’s shoes are just flying out of our store.

SAFE INVESTMENT OF THE SEASON

Anything with a cool, floral print. For those who want a more directional twist, opt for pieces with 3D detailing. And of course, culottes—they will be huge for Spring 2015.

RISKY BET

The transparency trend has to be approached with caution; worn the right way, it can look chic and sexy, but worn the wrong way, it can look crass and far too revealing. Less is more when it comes to this trend and it has to be executed in the right way.

DYING TREND

The strong military trend that we saw in many of the Fall 2014 collections is certainly fading out as we approach summer, as is the folk-inspired whimsical trend that we saw on the fall runway. Trends like these are more suited to winter collections as they work well with outerwear pieces and great knits.