Lady Gaga in Salvatore Ferragamo 2011 Fall collection London - Arabstoday Apparently, we were misled. This Summer’s blue and white stripes weren’t the end of it. They were only the beginning. We thought people wanted to pay tribute to the navy, but as events unfold, the reference was a mere coincidence. Throw the anchor-themed paraphernalia back in the closet where they belong, because next season, we’re embracing the high contrast aesthetic. Houndstooth is no longer the stuff of old high society ladies having brunch at some obscure European restaurant. The appeal of the illusionistic pattern has infiltrated the mainstream, the youth and the followers of Lady Gaga. Well, they all belong in the same subset actually. Did you notice Salvatore Ferragamo’s fixation on houndstooth in its Fall/Winter 2011 collection? There’s no denying it, even the soles of next season’s power heels are covered in houndstooth (we hope Loubi thinks this is far enough from his FTW idea of painting the soles of his creations red). Who would have thought that by sticking to what Ferragamo’s target market (refer to paragraph 2 should there be any confusion) finds appealing, they’d end up being on the youth’s fashion radar? They wouldn’t have, but Lady G made houndstooth cool again. Salvatore Ferragamo’s FW2011 line features houndstooth prominently and in different variations, from fine, dizzyingly repetitive arrays to overblown, Burberry nova check-ish patterns on sweaters that we predict will write themselves right into the must-have lists of career-oriented 20-something women. A belted pinstripe wrap dress, which looks like it was improvised out of an oversized jacket taken previously worn by a Wall Street banker, also falls right into the domain of high contrast, and it works well in degenderizing the generally masculine pattern. Depending on your mood, wear with a white belt for a bold attitude or a slim black one to subdue your overall look.