Pack a fashion power punch with Fall/Winter 2021 trends

SINGAPORE - Here are the biggest trends of the Fall/Winter 2021 season - from puffed-up proportions to high-shine glamour.

After a year of staying in and dressing down, Fall/Winter 2021 promises to satisfy the itch to dress up - and nothing says fashion with a capital F like silhouettes blown to fantastical proportions.

Options abound with Louis Vuitton and Loewe's modern twists on historical silhouettes, Molly Goddard's bursts of tulle, Patou's clouds of taffeta and JW Anderson's bulbous, brightly coloured knits.

Chalk it up to our new-found habit of opening doors with our sleeves. This season, designers are turning out sleeves so long they could double as gloves - a seemingly simple touch with high visual impact.

At Raf Simons and Stella McCartney, the ultra-long sleeves carry a whiff of grunge, while the ones at Loewe and Kenzo play up the collections' surreal proportions.

Countless Zoom meetings later, we have come to realise that it is the details that are in frame that matter the most. And designers have landed on a brilliant solution to dress up the visage: statement jewels.

The fall/winter collections are filled with show-stopping jewellery meant to draw attention to the face - from earrings in the form of giant gobstoppers and dripping chandeliers to fistfuls of crystals clasped around the throat.

In anticipation of a Roaring Twenties redux and being creatures of the night again some time in the hopefully-not-too-distant future, designers have cranked up the wattage for their latest creations.

There are glimmering, Old Hollywood glamour gowns at Michael Kors and Moschino; short, sparkly party slips and shifts at Chanel, Burberry and Saint Laurent; and futuristic sheen at Balmain and Dolce&Gabbana.

The black dress is a style perennial and a no-brainer for instant chic and allure. This season, designers have reinvented it by upping its sex appeal - think less prim and a lot more provocative; Belle Du Jour instead of Breakfast At Tiffany's.

Slink into one of the sheer, sexy versions from Gucci, Givenchy, Valentino or Saint Laurent for a va-va-voom entrance.

If there is one key piece to invest in this season, it is the bodysuit.

The snug one-piece is a natural extension of all the athleisure and sweats people have been wearing the past year, fulfilling the need for both ease and comfort, with the added bonus of making a fashion statement.

The bodysuit forms the foundation of Raf Simons and Miuccia Prada's latest joint collection and is sexed up at Saint Laurent, Tom Ford and Dolce & Gabbana.

In recent seasons, the idea of craft has really come to the forefront of fashion - a slow approach that stands in direct opposition to throwaway fast fashion.

One of the clearest marks of the human hand can be found in pieces lovingly patchworked together.

Marine Serre has made it a core practice at her brand, while Gabriela Hearst hops on the bandwagon with both her eponymous label and her debut Chloe collection.

Call it a reaction against the micro bags that have been trending the past few seasons or a reflection of the times in which we are living, where we carry more of our lives with us as the concept of an office becomes increasingly fluid and mobile. But this season's standout bags are positively epic in size.

For sheer spectacle alone, nothing beats the giant totes at Marni and Fendi. Stella McCartney and Prada, meanwhile, propose more practical versions.