Trend Trackers
The future of fashion was glimpsed from three angles recently with a trio of trend presentations hosted by color forecaster Color By Design Options, Barbara Fields Buying Office and fiber manufacturer DuPont.
Design Options Sees Shades Ranging from Acid-Tart to Vegetable Tones
Colors will range from virtual brights to urban neutrals for Spring/Summer 2002, according to a recent trend presentation led by Fran Tesser-Sude, owner of the Los Angeles-based trend forecasting service Color By Design Options. Future textiles range from oversized prints on stretch sateens to madras plaids on distressed fabrics.
The presentation included a brief report on teens and tweens led by Caroline Lettieri, director for TLC, a quarterly report on teen and tween trends. Color By Design Options recently added TLC to its forecasting offerings and plans to add a color palette to correspond to the teen and tween market, according to Tesser-Sude.
Tesser-Sude presented Color By Design Options’ seven categories of Spring/Summer colors:
bull; Natural Wonder—“pearlized tints of seawater,” eco/techno blends, seashell tones, subtle iridescence.
bull; Young Spirit—“get in touch with your inner child,” acid-tart shades, candy stripes, “pop takes on an adult edge in silk,” watercolor florals, soft, fuzzy textures.
bull; Modernism—modern but not minimal, tropical brights such as salmon, mango, blue daiquiri and melon ball in stretch satin, polished chintz, oversized prints.
bull; Electric Cafeacute;—Color By Design Options’ brightest palette, virtual—but not fluorescent—colors such as limelight, safety red and halogen blue, fabrics are embellished with clear sequins or finished with silicone glazes.
bull; Summerset—“high-voltage folk art,” softened vegetable tones, meacute;lange of prints such as madras, batik, surfaces are distressed, waxed or cracked.
bull; In Style—“survival gear for urbanites,” neutrals mixed with gray, double-faced fabrics and convertible features.
Barbara Fields Heads Back-to-School
About 60 buyers turned out for a Back-to-School fashion seminar hosted by Los Angeles-based Barbara Fields Buying Office and held at the California Mart. Buying office owner Barbara Fields targeted what she calls “Million-Dollar Items” that she said will “generate big volume” for junior and tween buyers.
Hot items included turtleneck T-shirts, some with dolman sleeves or detachable scarves. The ballerina T-shirt with a batau neckline and cap sleeves is also a popular item.
In addition, Fields singled out “anything with ruching or ruffles.”
bull; Military—camouflage prints, dog tag accessories, canvas bags and web belts. “Military for summer is going to be dressier, for fall it will be the back-to-school camp look,” said Fields.
bull; Cowboy—Western shirts, Americana and horse motifs and cowboy hats. “Don’t be in the cowboy hat business, but you need a few to sprinkle in your displays,” Fields said.bull; Flags—American and British flag prints.
bull; Rock and Roll—eagle motifs, 1950s pinup girls motifs and biker looks.
bull; Punk—safety pins, hard-core looks, jumpsuits, zipper trim, tartan and graffiti prints.
bull; Varsity—rhinestone-trimmed sneakers, pants with athletic stripes on side seams, lace-up closure pants, varsity jackets and bowling bags. “Athletic looks will probably eat into a lot of denim buyers’ open-to-buy,” Fields said.
bull; Denim—embellished jeans, frayed waistbands, long and short denim skirts, halter tops, jumpsuits, shirt jackets, foiled denim. “Glitter is on fire,” Fields said, adding, “don’t go home without a glitter jean.” Also, dip-dyed denim, belted jeans, saddle-stitching and low-rise.
DuPont Forecasts Color with Attitude
Wilmington, Del. chemical and fiber manufacturer DuPont also hosted its Spring/Summer 2002 color forecast called “Attitudes” at a series of trend presentations held in the California Mart, then reprised them in San Francisco. Roseann Forde for DuPont hosted the presentation, which included samples purchased from a recent European buying trip.
Forde divided the presentation into three attitudes for womenswear: “Power,” “Sensuality” and “Freedom.”
The colors in the “Power” group are “basic but impactful,” Forde said. They include navy, gray, turquoise, buttercream and red. Fabrics include crepe jersey and Micromattique poly twill. Patterns include geometric, checks and stripes, which “run in every direction and on every fabric,” Forde said. Items include obi-wrap jackets, pleated skirts, asymmetrical knit tops and halter dresses.
The “Sensuality” color palette pairs “sensual” shades of pink with mocha. Fabrics are lightweight and romantic, including diaphanous nylon/Lycra sheers, handkerchief linen and embroidered laces in nylon/viscose/Lycra. Items include sundresses, updated peasant blouses and embellished skirts.
“We see a lot more color and print and pattern” in the “Freedom” trend group, Forde said. Colors include brights with a “hint of neon” paired with muted colors and offset by metallic olive oil.
Fabrics include “lots of novelty, double-faced fabrics, texture, open-work knits and all kinds of denim,” Forde said. Linen is modernized and updated by adding Lycra. Items include stretch leather skirts and pants, fabric-blocked tops and bias-cut wrap dresses and tops.
