Spring Minimalist Fashion: the arrival of clean lines, simple colors and stripped-down wardrobe assemblage with the arrival of warmer weather (at last).
It’s tough, but not impossible, to be minimalist in the winter. As you add layer after layer to protect against the cold wind and snow, you lose a little aesthetic simplicity. It’s a trade-off everyone has to make to survive.
But it means that, come springtime, as the weather once again warms up, minimalist fashion – just like the plants and trees – enjoys a public rebirth. The clean lines, simple colors and stripped-down assemblage of a minimalist wardrobe comes back into style, in a big way.
What exactly is minimalism, though? Where did the philosophy/aesthetic come from? How does one take the principles of minimalism and then dress accordingly? And, finally, what reason, other than fashion, do people have for dressing minimally? With spring just around the corner, let’s answer all your questions about minimalist fashion.
What Is Minimalism?
Minimalism has its roots in Japanese Zen culture, but it’s more closely associated nowadays with the mid-century art movements of Europe and North America. As a reaction to the excesses of pre-war modernism and expressionism, purveyors of mid-century minimalism created stripped down art pieces, writing, sculpture and architecture. Eventually, the aesthetic took off with industrial designers and fashion houses.
From its origins with Zen Buddhism through to its adaptation as a Western art movement and its eventual embrace in the mainstream, minimalism has supported the concept of “essential living”. When you remove everything that distracts and detracts from what is essential in life, you are able to live more freely.
How to Dress Minimalist
With its emphasis on clean lines, simple structures and shapes, and a lack of ornateness, a minimalist wardrobe is easy to picture. But it’s less easy to get right. Because it’s so simple, the clothing needs to fit well and be of high quality. It also needs to serve multiple functions – you need to be able to dress it up or down, and wear it in cool or warm weather. How do clothes makers do it?
Brands like Unbound Merino do it by shrewdly using a versatile material (in this case Merino wool) and creating simple, sophisticated items of clothing from it. Merino wool is breathable, insulating, moisture wicking and wrinkle-resistant, in addition to draping well, so it makes an ideal candidate for minimalist fashion. Other brands, like Lunya, take the approach of creating one-piece outfits, like jumpsuits and rompers, with no frills and simple lines.
5 Trends Every Minimalist Should Try This Spring https://t.co/T6JdgIX9jH
— Timeless Model Management (@TimelessModel) March 6, 2020
Why Dress Minimalist?
As mentioned above, a key reason for dressing in a minimalist style – that is, with a pared down wardrobe of simple clothing – is that it allows you to live essentially, which can be mentally liberating. Another reason people often cite is that, because minimalist wardrobes tend to be far smaller and longer lasting, they are a great way of mitigating your ecological footprint. And that’s certainly a consideration on a lot of people’s minds right now.
This spring, minimalist fashion is back in a big way. Shop for simple, sophisticated merino wool clothing for men and single-piece clothing for women, and start living freely.
