Trend Forecasting by
David Shah + Stijlinstituut Amsterdam

Maredimoda, 7/8/9 November 2017, Palais des Festivals Cannes

Swimwear Trends

Ad hoc 

An ad hoc, dynamic design process gives the freedom to pick, mix, colour and layer. Modular outfits combine and connect in new ways to morph from swimwear to sportswear to anywear.

Fabrics: Fabrics are selected to provoke creativity and industrial ambition in design. Choose compact, functional swim and sports fabrics, either plains or with surface or knit-in designs – grids, meshes and heather effects – to represent construction materials. Lightweight fabrics allow layering and foam sculpts. Each wearer designs the surface, constructs the outfit and then flexes it as needed.

Patterns: Think retro construction toys, then mash that with computer graphic patterns, laser cut holes, printed meshes and rhythmic graphic patterns and jacquard weaves.

Colors: Meccano shades without the flatness of pure primaries – these are more sophisticated mid-tone brights to colour block with sturdy darks and hazy pastels.

Silhouettes: A hard-core sporting foundation for a fun-filled lifestyle. Styles are bold, sporty and graphic. Modular pieces layer and combine. Functionality is accentuated as zips, tapes and trims make flexibility a feature. These are hybrid garments for every element of each crazy day.

Next Nature 

Take a holistic approach, considerate of the full process from ethical sourcing, integrity of design, production methods and disposal after use.

Fabrics: Manmade, inspired by nature, these smart fabrics mimic nature’s sophisticated aesthetics and intelligence. Surfaces are smooth skin, fur or carapace. Rough weaves of strips and tapes, or rips and mending combine with surface effects of floating threads and fringes.

Patterns: The forest inspires with tonal palm leaves and feathers. Natural irregularities are mimicked using digital language to create magic marls and natural stone effects. Contemporary camouflage blends nature with the urban landscape. At Nano level we abstract patterns, glitching and manipulating animal skin, marble and corroded effects. The sea inspires with drops, reflections and water-made marks.

Colors: Deep natural shades combine urban and natural environments. Forest shades feature with dense pines and cedars, utilitarian khakis, browns and burnished terra tints.

Silhouettes: Covered silhouettes provide space for hyper-scale patterns. To contrast we propose styles that help nature by shaping the body using body-tuning cuts and tailoring. Swim and outerwear styles fuse, as hybridity is key.

Artful

Traditional folk craft skills can be re-interpreted or blended with high-tech computer graphics for a synthesis between nostalgia and optimism for a global future that is refreshing and exciting.

Fabrics: Cotton-touch fabrics contrast with skin-touch materials. Basic charmeuses sit alongside crochets, plissé, piqués and honeycomb effects. Fabrics are either plain or printed to add more depth to motives.

Patterns: Wildly innovative, colorful, fun and bold. These designs copy, combine, create and celebrate experimental forms of creative production, they re-use and repurpose waste art, fashion and trash. Patterns are superimposed mixing regions and eras. Small retro-inspired graphics mix with free-spirited Memphis inspired patterns. African patterns mix with cut and pasted stripes. Bold panels and blow-ups of sceneries hint at Pop art and expressive emoticons bring things right up to now.

Colors: Fresh, bright hues for bold plains or clashing contrasts. Bright colors are used to collage and create happy harmonies.

Silhouettes: Girly and sexy. Think tiny bikinis and Brazilian swimsuits, asymmetrically cut suits and leggings. Pretty bras and briefs are intimatewear for swimwear. Total looks offer coordinated or uncoordinated accessories for the beach or the city.

Into the cloud

Today’s fabrics reach for the clouds with futuristic prints and fibre performance stories.

Fabrics: Experimentation in intelligent, multi-disciplinary design and manufacturing leads to hyper-dynamic plissés, responsive and sensory materials, fabrics that protect you from paparazzi and warn you of air-born hazards. Smooth plains or micro-raised textures carry futuristic print designs.

Patterns: The consumer can co-create: Fablabs make design tools that produce generative designs that are created with the help of algorithms. Multi-colour gradients, psychedelic and slightly intergalactic, have the attraction of flowing liquids. Source material comes from the earth (liquids, graphic repeats, virtual camouflage) and space (rockets, planets, and constellations).

Colors: Acid and glowing shades where gradient coloring and rasterized patterns add to the virtual and meditative appearance. Luminous brights are combined with hyper darks.

Silhouettes: Experimental novel garment manufacturing methods include 3D printed details and accessories. Fit is optimised using body-scanning technology. Shapes add glamour and sensuality to technological fabric, garment and manufacturing concepts.

Intimate Apparel Trends

Active Reactive 

Garments containing personalized health solutions and beauty boosting properties.

Fabrics: Go lighter, go longer: an exploration of ultra-light support and maximum comfort in breathable fabrics that fit like a second skin or provide compression to improve performance. Performance enhancement comes from coatings, surface treatments and intelligent knits. Clothing creates a barrier against urban stress and can interact with the body. From elite athletes, benefits filter down to basic utilitarian underwear.

Patterns: Graphic patterns, graduated or engineered effects aid function as well as look. Designs are minimalist: geometrics, grids, molecular patterns, and microscopic crystals influenced by computer mapping and graphs. Cuts and perforations enhance aesthetics and provide ventilation.

Colors: A palette of contemplation, pure and neutral for energetic performance and active intimate looks. All shades of skin, silver and metal combine with cold blues and icy pinks.

Silhouettes: 3D data Modelling and prototyping offer extreme comfort or graduated compression in intelligent layers. These are active, outerwear and intimate hybrids that feature performance tailoring and functional design, to aid as well as prevent. Yarn-based systems tell performance stories.

Dress Up 

Used garments and waste materials from the fashion industry are recycled and even more valuable as a result: the appreciation of the value of life includes the environment we live in.

Fabrics: Fabrics take the lead, they are the story and they are intricately embellished, beaded, sequined, fringed, encrusted or ravishingly printed. Luxurious, yet, ironically, often reused or repurposed, they have a touch of couture. 3D embellishment can be translated in pattern and print. Patterns are patched, often in exotic combinations. Lace is everywhere.

Patterns: Flowers and ornaments. The source is traditional, yet re-worked in modern designs and combinations. Florals, lace patterns and wallpaper ornamentation spice up glam silhouettes as well as sports gear.

Colors: Warm and rich in royal reds and blues that combine or vibrate against corals, gold, purples and deep burgundy reds.

Silhouettes: From corsetry-inspired classics to activewear innovation, shape solutions are complex. The fabrics make the look versatile, ideal whatever the occasion, as innerwear becomes outerwear. Riotous detail and lavish accessories play a huge role in celebrating couture, tailoring and the artisanship of fashion creation.

All images and trend information courtesy of MarediModa – www.maredimoda.com