Foho is one of the naffest terms possible, but hats off to the Daily Telegraph for coining it. The term represents the origins and influence of the trend; it’s origins in the Boho look, and the heavy influence of folk culture.

Foho is about a more understated, eclectic mix, fusing classic Boho elements – Seventies silhouettes, crochet trims and trippy hippie prints – with more subtle folk pieces, such as washed-out denim and traditional embroideries.

Crucially, it also throws in something modern like a great big shiny It-bag or über-cool trainers. It’s cooler and far more authentic than Boho and owes more to the original folk look of the Seventies.

Foho is also the style of up-and-coming “freak folk” stars (a fusion of folk, pop and psychedelic 60s sounds) such as Joanna Newsom, who performs in pretty bib-front dresses and CocoRosie, a sister duo whose style (hippie scarves and gipsy skirts with more street-inspired pieces) is a reflection of their eclectic hip-hop folk music.

Like Medea in her fury, Daily Telegraph mentions, last summer Sienna Miller destroyed Boho, the bohemian look she had created and made her own: “I feel less hippy,” she lamented to American Vogue. “I just don’t want to wear anything floaty or coin-belty ever again. No more gilets, or cowboy boots. There are 12-year-olds wearing exact replicas of my mother’s Moroccan belt.”

She was right on target. We had all had enough of low-slung belts, tiered gipsy skirts and straw cowboy hats – and out they went, along with a look equally beloved of Kate Moss, and style-mongers from Elle Macpherson to the Olsen twins. Few of us were sorry to kiss goodbye to what had turned into an identikit head-to-toe look.

Foho, is a luxury take on a bohemian look. Part peasant, part Cossack, part sex-goddess rock chic. And it’s here for the colder months of 2008/2009 – largely thanks to an outstanding collection by Frida Giannini for Gucci’s Fall (Autumn) / Winter 2008/2009 women’s collection and men’s collection. Looks from Gucci, Naeem Khan, and Anna Sui

The Foho folk aesthetic wouldn’t be complete without flares. The faded, flared jean has rapidly usurped the skinny jean and has been spotted on Kylie Minogue, Penelope Cruz and Billie Piper.

The Key Elements:

• Billowy white peasant shirts
• Fringed boots
• Folk-inspired tooled leather pieces
• Embroidery and paisley prints
• Charm / coin belts and jewelry
• Luxurious fur or fur-trimmed pieces
• Fringed long skinny scarves
• Bed hair and smudged smoky eye-makeup

My life, has always been a traveling caravan of cultural mix though my friends know, I am often called the gypsy. Whether I lived in New York City, Milan or São Paulo, I never forgot my Mediterranean and Oriental ancestry. India and Turkey and Spain have always been in my unconscious manifesting the way I  dress and wear jewelry. Tibetan nomads, Thai dancers and Burma monks have been my life’s inspiration when it came to organize the space I worked on my returns.

Today, we are becoming so global that it is not so difficult to feel each other cultures through the way we dress, and express ourselves. We want to feel we touch each other, going to eat a sushi in New York City, wearing the last Retro Russian look pants from Gucci and our grandfather’s vintage floral print shirt. Many models and stars not only adopted the trend but created their personal  look through  the inspired collection.

Among them Danish supermodel Helena Cristensen who  just launched her own folk-inspired fashion label with her friend Lief Sigersen. The Christensen & Sigersen range, sold in the UK for the first time this season at Net-a-porter.com, includes white cotton (organic, of course) puff-sleeved peasant blouses and pretty sun-dresses with crochet trims and velvet ribbon belts

Milla Jovovich, another hippie at heart, has packed her first own label collection for Mango with retro, folky pieces such as floor-length tiered dresses with crochet or lace trims, dreamy washed out floral prints and denim flares. Topshop has produced a version styled on vintage Chloé, while the revival was led by the aptly named Woodstock jean by 18th Amendment.

Admittedly, some designers, such as arch-bohemians Consuelo Castiglione, of Marni, and Dries Van Noten, have ditched the folksy aesthetic for a more urban sportiness.

Beyond her micro-mini party dresses there are wide studded belts, twinkling coin-covered waistcoats, Ibiza-style hippie-embroidered bikinis and kaftans, floor-length bias-cut jersey skirts and, of course, the model’s signature suede moccasin boots. Elsewhere there are floral-print patchwork tops and dresses by Kimchi + Blue at Urban Outfitters and more upscale versions from Chloé, based on Gloria Vanderbilt‘s handicrafts from the Seventies.

It’s rare that Paris Hilton is a style role model but even she has recently paired a crochet-trimmed dress with sexier high heels and glossy sunglasses to good effect.
Chic gladiator sandals are a far more feminine alternative to the now highly naff cowboy boot. If you must invest in one of Prada‘s fringed suede or leather shoulder bags, try not to go overboard. Miu Miu‘s more subtly boho tie-dye bags are far cooler in any case.
Keep hair groomed and avoid Jessica Simpson-style tumbling curls or Heidi-esque plaits at all costs.

Joelle’s Picks

Shop Foho fashion on line:

• Topshop
  
• Mango
• Net-a-Porter
• Urban Outfitters
• The Gladiator sandals

The Designers:

• Gucci
• Naeem Khan
• Anna Sui
• Marni
• Dries Van Noten