This week I was introduced to the "storyboard" feature on Stylesight, a site dedicated to fashion and art trends used by industry professionals. I was inspired to create two trendboards featuring my take on upcoming trends in 2013.
This trendboard is called "Rusted" and it is inspired by an image of a rusted vintage car. I loved the shades of reds and browns in the image and I was so inspired to create a collection based on those colors. I was also intrigued by the interesting textures from the image. My color story was inspired by a photo of a granite rock in shades of browns. I researched several runway trends that used this color pallet and found this beautiful Vivienne Westwood handbag from Fall 11. I also found a very interesting rusted red fur coat from Frankie Morello from Fall 05. My favorite has to be this Valentin Yudashkin look with a long maxi dress with red and purple shades, completed with a brown leather jacket. Some silhouettes that I would like to pair with this trend are long chiffon dresses paired with a vest or jacket. Also some light weight blouses paired with maxi skirts or exaggerated wide legged pants.
What do you think of the trendboard? Do you think this trend will hit the market next year?
This is my other trendboard and it is called "The Toy Trinket". The trendboard was inspired by the idea of youth and childhood, and it explores playful colors and prints.
My color story was inspired by a painting by Adrian Ghenie. I really love the pop of colors in this painting combined with shades of dark purples and browns. My runway fashion inspirations came from a long maxi printed dress by D&G that just came out this Spring 2012! I was also inspired by a printed Talbot Runhof Spring 2012 dress just previously came out in Paris fashion week.
Shilhouettes I would like to see these trends in include printed dresses and blouses that can be paired with wide legged pants.
What do you think of this trendboard? What other pieces would go well with this colorful trend?
One of the biggest things that will influence consumer fashion trends this year is the rising price of cotton. With the many recent droughts, forest fires, and the high rising temperatures of Texas and in the US overall, cotton prices have surged upward within the past recent years. In 2012, shoppers will begin to notice a price increase in their cotton shirts, pants, day dresses, denim, undergarments, etc.
According to CBS News, one solution to the problem is for manufacturers to mark up their prices. This becomes a difficult challenge for retail chains that sell low cost and fast trends fashion like Forever 21 and H&M. When their target consumers are budget shoppers, price mark ups pose a real threat to driving away their customers.
Stylesight news predicts that consumers will buy more clothing with blended fabric contents. Some popular fibers used to blend with cotton are Polyester, Nylon, Viscose, and Linen blends because they look and feel like cotton.
Denim manufactures especially have research the many cotton blends alternatives that will actually increase performance and reduce the price of denim. Some popular denim blends include TENCEL® lyocell, recycled polyester, recycled cotton, standard polyester, polyurethane, and Lycra® T400 elastane.
On an interesting note, I recently read a Wall Street Journal article, “Chinese Take Cotton to Hoarding,” by Carolyn Cui. Cui reports a Chinese farmer hoarding a stockpile of cotton in his home, waiting for cotton price to continue rising, hoping to sell them for more money to make up for the rising cost of fertilizer and labor. These farmers heard news that the world was running short of cotton, simply because the demand for it is so high in China, the world’s largest producer of cotton.
As the climate effects of global warming becomes more drastic, not only is the price of cotton rising, but also many other natural and regenerated fibers, like silk, wool, and flax, are seeing a price increase. So what is the future of natural fibers?
According to Stylesight, scientists and manufacturers have been researching innovative and renewable resources for future textiles. One of which is bamboo regenerated fibers, which have become popular in the past few years. Others are milk, coffee, coconut, corn, and wood. These resources are still in their infancy and are relatively high priced, but with today growing technology, consumers will soon see these in stores.
Check our this video of designer Anke Domaske photo shoot for her new milk clothing line campaign where she explains more about the process of turning milk into a textile.
