Top trends for spring

IT'S the first day of the year and time to take a look at your wardrobe and what to wear this season.

The key word here is 'curate'. Let's not push the panic button, and think about the consequences of not having the latest pieces from several collections. No one dies from wearing past season collections; the idea is that you create your own style.

Curating works by selecting essential and classic pieces. When it comes to building a wardrobe, it's very simple, you just need have a selection of excellent basics.

While you may think that any old T-shirt would do, quality counts. Cut and fit is very important. Go for tailored pants and jackets, a well cut suit, T-shirts made of the best fabric, several white shirts, pencil skirts or long skirts, a black dress ... this is the starting point.

From there, you move on to the seasonal collections, where you add in some trends for a fresh look as well as some fun pieces.

Don't forget to include the pre-collections, special collections and cruise/resort collections. You can pick up great investment pieces from here.

Always work with what you have, go through the collections and pick out things you know you're actually going to wear. As much as we, the fashion writers, love to gush about architectural proportions, dimensional silhouettes and fantastical creations, these are, at the end of the day, clothes, not art sculptures.

Though really, in matters of personal style, who says you can't look like a work of art if you want to?

Bear in mind there aren't many people who can carry off unusual proportions, so keep it simple, and stick to what works for you.

Fashion isn't rocket science and trends are just that, trends. A collection is merely a guide, the final look rests with you.

And since it's a new year, if you're thinking of a change, this is the best time to do it.

Here's a breakdown of some of the top trends Artistically-inclined

Art and fashion are never far apart and this season, it seemed like it was nothing but an artistic palette with Prada and the political street muralists and Chanel and Pantone-streaked dresses.

Streams of colour (Kenzo, Versace), splashes of paint, face-paintings (Jean-Charles de Castlebajac, Antonio Marras), paintings (Aquilano Rimoldi), graffiti (Louis Vuitton), graphics (just about everyone) ... everything under the sun.

If you're leaning towards an artisanal bent, this is definitely your season.

Tribal beat

Pick a tribe, any tribe. The world is your oyster and it's a movement towards embracing the inner warrior in you. Cultural influences are a major trend, and it was all over the runways. From Celine, Junya Watanabe, Valentino, Givenchy and Alexander McQueen, it's a mish-mash of different cultures. But what does it matter? You're a global citizen, and your tribe is a universal one. Anything goes in this new world order.

In full bloom

Well it is Spring, and where would we be without flowers? Pretty posies, 3D blooms and delightful renditions of florals permeated the catwalk as flowers made their presence felt. Dior, Mary Katrantzou, Jonathan Saunders, Rochas and Marc Jacobs were among those with a love for flora and fauna. One of the easiest looks to wear, and also the one that most people trip over. If you're wearing separates, go easy and pair it with a plain or solid colour counterpart.

Shine bright like a diamond

More like a metallic one actually. Turn up the sheen and make it a shiny season. Satin, that rather unforgiving material is in full force, and metallics came in every colour of the rainbow. Lanvin, Isabel Marant and Preen were among those that had shimmer on display, though several other designers made a point to include several luminous numbers.

Since we've already recovered from wearing sequins during the day many moons ago, it's not such a huge leap to now look even more shiny by day. At the risk of looking too much like you're heading into cyborg territory, do what's always been done when it comes to a possibly overwhelming look. Break it up, and wear it with a matte piece and bring the shine down to a glow.

Sugar, sugar

Oh, the sugary sweetness of pastels! Summery yellows, cotton candy pinks, pale greens, it was a veritable fondant of colours as seen at Burberry, Miu Miu, Prabal Gurung and Christopher Kane, among others.. For those with a sweet tooth, it was all prettiness and light. Now these are colours that can be mixed and matched sans prejudice, as it's almost impossible to trip up on sorbet shades. Keep it to a maximum of three though, and check the tones to your skin.