Sundance inspires Spring 60s fashions

I like to read interviews of Sundance directors to pick out the liars. I have no real merit for my skepticism — just an intuition that some are faking it. Obscurity for the sake of obscurity kills any real artistic significance. The same goes for even the most prominent designers. We all saw Chanel’s Hoop bag last fall.

But hidden in the muck of hype, you occasionally find gems such as Big Sur. The Michael Polish independent did not land on most-anticipated lists, but it still caught my interest as it aims at a humanistic rawness by depicting the maddening break down of Beat Generation novelist Jack Kerouac. The film based on a 1962 novel doesn’t only speak of a culture iconic for their existential mindsets, but illustrates one that speaks through their fashion as well. And as history repeats, so do its expressions. Spring 2013 is simply no exception.

Costume designer Bic Owen dressed the film in a washed-out aesthetic that represents the muted underside of the era and hints at this season’s 60s cuts with subtle colors. The simplistic whites we’ll see on lead actor Jean-Marc Barr (Kerouac) contrast the abrupt Santa Lucia cliffs of Cali’s coast and mirror the whites we’ll see from top designers such as Bottega Veneta as we return to more feminine styles from before the days of Valerie Solanas.

And as winter loved rich jewel tones, spring will mellow the sapphires and leave us with hues of blue as well. We’ll see more of the high necklines that dressed 60s icons Twiggy and Françoise Hardy, with designs from Charlotte Ronson whose modest blue dresses take inspiration form water — similar to those of Big Sur’s Pacific.

Though some designers will opt soft, the conflict of the inspiring generation will parallel that of the modern fashion world. Some cannot resist the quirkier side of the 60s because there seems to be a little bit of Cosmo’s Helen Brown in all of us too. It’s hard not to fall for this season’s gallant stripes such as Oscar de la Renta’s chevrons or bright statement sunglasses that have a more sexy, playful attitude.

In fact, the cool colored trends might be to blame for the real-life romance that sparked between Polish and Kate Bosworth who plays the film’s sensual but arduous mistress Billie. And as the now-engaged duo quickly becomes one of our most fashionably smart couples, I have to give credit to the other latest trends all of our own.

Not all of 2013 can resemble the poise or oddity of the 60s. Some will still prefer to swim against the rest with pieces tagged as peek-a-boos that are cut to reveal skin too risqué even for the era. But then again, going against the conformity might scream 60s louder than anything else — fashion, too, is all about individualism. Happy Sundancing.