The Pantsuit Takes a Walk on the Wild Side

Inspired by upholstery fabrics and the zany '60s, fashion designers have lit upon one thing that few women have in their closets: psychedelic pantsuits.

From Prada and Stella McCartney to fast-fashion retailers like Asos fashion labels are showing pantsuits with audacious prints. Even in a print-saturated fashion moment, these stand out. The abstract patterns and even the fabrics themselves—heavy on jacquards and velvet—seem to have more in common with stuffed pillows than fashion.

These bold prints sneaked into spring fashions via busy pants such as J. Crew's "pop art polka dot" slacks and Zara's arabesque-print trousers. For fall, the look morphed into full suits that seemed created by designers on acid: Prada's purple-diamond repeats, Prabal Gurung's aquatic swirls and Stella McCartney's electric blue vines.

These suits riff on bad taste, stopping just short of clownish. "It's a little tongue-in-cheek, and there's a sense of whimsy to it," says Colleen Sherin, senior fashion director for Saks SKS +1.37% Fifth Avenue. "And it's a powerful statement."

For Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs topped off suits that seemed to have been made from carpetbags with huge squashed hats by Stephen Jones. Giambattista Valli, who dresses the Euro elite, took orange and black rectangles mod enough for the Jetsons' living-room curtains and tailored them into a sleek jacket and slacks. Peter Som went with big cheery flowers in a boxy pantsuit, while Jean Paul Gaultier chose snakeskin, dyed aqua and orange. Rochas used inky oversized checks.