Trends

Fun summerwear!

When the new ranges are shown, you can be sure to see one predominant trend — to have fun! The Fashion Access Fair 06 saw the mixing of many different trends and styles to fit with your own personal expression, where fun and creativity are the main concerns.

For the coming season fashion quietens down … in terms of colour. Instead, the colour white — used with beiges, browns and blacks — is a big player. It portrays the image of coolness (both the associations with trendiness and temperature applies) to clothing, and also represents society’s need for calm, simplicity and moderation. The colour suggests elegance and with it comes a balance of both stiff and supple materials.

Pastels are also used to create a softer look.

These colours are often combined with graphic patterns, various structures and surfaces.

Pastels are also often used with touches of red, white and blue to create the sea-side holiday feeling. Here the colours are combined with small patterns — dots, checks and stripes — to create a playful look. The colours appear faded, and at other times undefined and matt.

Man’s longing to travel is expressed by making use of Nature’s influence on materials — a combination of refinement and rustic elements. The colours are mixtures of cold and warm, especially making use of beige and brown tones, mixed with other colours from oranges and reds to gold and bronze. Clay and ochre colours are especially dominating. Ethnic patterns and hand crafted ornamental elements are used sparingly, unlike previous seasons.

Light is a big factor, playing with colours and materials to create attractive effects that suggest a futuristic image. As a result, metallic colours (gold, bronze, silver) make their appearance again.

Flowery prints and colours bring back the romantic side of fashion. These are combined with sparkle and iridescence to create luminosity.

Play with vibrant colours to make bold statements and celebrate life, or get a soft, yet sporty, feeling by using fruity colours to create a light-hearted and cheerful feel.

In general, as seen at the GDS Show, the bold use of contrast in the past is replaced with colour combinations that work together — instead of against each other — which means that surfaces, patterns and structures are left to stand out. Materials also get a chance to be noticed, especially in terms of their shine and feel.

Overall, cuts are figure-hugging, creating striking silhouettes that are clearly defined. Capri shorts are back to stay.