Comfort without compromise |
| By Kristin Ely |
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 If the COVID-19 pandemic will have any type of lasting impact on fashion it will be in the area of comfort. Jennifer Day, owner of Santa Monica, California-based handmade women’s clothing brand, Bali Prema, says 2021 trends are the reverse of the escapism fashions of 2020 “that was desperately needed during our pandemic year of lockdown with only our imagination and the internet to dreamily explore wild sun-soaked destinations of our hopeful near future.” The fashions of 2021, she says, “look more practical and grounded because we are all a little bit more humble after COVID, but we also have bigger dreams as the fragility of life has been put into greater perspective, so we see a flare of romanticism and exoticism.” While the pandemic may soon be behind us, Day says, “Our relationship with comfortable, often baggy clothes is here to stay a little longer just like our work-from-home status, which may also allow us the opportunity to not only work from home but from anywhere.” In women’s fashions, she says, this translates to flowing, billowing dresses, jumpsuits and pants. “Wide-leg features continue to be desired because they’re comfortable and chic in textures that are soft, prints that remind us of the tropics and clothes that feel like a hug.” The vision for Bali Prema was born after a trip to Bali in 2014. The word Prema means “unconditional spiritual feminine love” in Sanskrit. The brand’s collection of prints is inspired by nature and ocean using contemporary and ancestral dyeing techniques of Bali and come in the soft rayons and viscose designed to drape like water and float like air currents against the body. The company’s jumpsuits are designed to fit a wide range and to be styled in several different ways, showcased in how-to videos on Bali Prema’s YouTube channel. “This is why our jumpsuits have been |
