Berlin trade show, Panorama, revealed last week a first look at the fashion themes due to dominate Northern Europe’s high streets.
And with nostalgia, sustainability and color at the base of most collections, it appears the denim category is comfortable exploring many of the same themes for Spring/Summer 2020 as it did for 2019.
Noisy May’s collection for Spring/Summer 2020 looked like a blast from the past, but with a 21st century focus on sustainability.
For the first time, 25 percent of the brand’s jeans collection is made with BCI cotton. And the contemporary women’s brand has ambitions to increase its commitment to organic cotton. A sales rep said the goal is to have 50 percent of the entire Noisy May range—denim and non-denim—made with organic cotton within the next year.
The Bestseller brand channeled the ’80s and ’90s in its S/S 2020 collection, where flare jeans and low-waists (think Britney Spears circa 1998) appeared to be staging a comeback. The throwback designs were complemented with a range of color blocked windbreakers and tees with nostalgic MTV logo. Summer denim staples like chambray shorts and mini-skirts with elastic waists and jeans with raw edges rounded-out the collection.
BCI cotton, recycled cotton and Tencel fabrications are used throughout Only Carmakoma’s S/S 2020 collection. The fellow Bestseller brand, which launched in January 2018, uses a minimum of 50 percent sustainable fibers in its Only Life products. And consumers and retailers are taking note of the women’s plus size brand. Morten Dahl, the brand’s international sales manager, says wholesale business is growing, thanks in part to partnerships with retailers like Zalando.
Stretch denim is core to the collection. Trendy fits include skinny, boot cut and ankle in dark or vintage blue, black and white. Items like a denim pencil skirt, belted denim shirt dress, a classic Trucker jacket and a riff on a chore jacket build a denim wardrobe and complement Only Carmakoma’s three deliveries, each inspired by maritime style.
Vero Moda’s S/S 2020 collection offered sustainable options in both rigid and soft varieties. The line included rigid cropped, wide-leg jeans made with 100 percent organic cotton and a range of denim garments made with Tencel, including a knotted top, pleated shorts and paper bag waist trousers.
A black denim mini skirt and black acid wash ankle-length mom jeans offered a rock ‘n’ roll fashion story to Vero Moda’s collection. Similarly, “Designed in Germany” brand Kenny S. offered an edgy look for the season with faded black jeans embellished with black and dark metallic patchwork.
Along with a core line of skinny and slim jeans and denim skirts, fashion brand Hailys offered black pinstriped jeans and jeans with diamante embellishment on the outside seams. Stripes of black, silver and gold diamante trimmed the side of jeans, hems of skirts and edges of collars on jean jackets in Alexwashere’s new collection.
Bohemian vibes are second nature to Blue Daze, the denim line from Dutch brand Summum Woman.
The brand presented a striped indigo-dyed smocked blouse and a collar-less belted jumpsuit. A deconstructed set—jeans and a jacket—was designed to look like it was made with two different vintage jeans. Desigual, too, added its signature global look to ’90s style acid wash joggers with bohemian taping on the hem. Meanwhile, the back of Naoko’s jean jackets featured bold flower prints and free-spirited phrases. Floral printed jeans were the showpiece in Please’s collection. The Italian brand mixed abstract flowers with piecing and embroidery.
Angels Jeans, a one-size-fits-all jeans brand from Germany, added novelties to its popular line of stretch skinnies. Inspired by Off-White, Angels added branded black and yellow side taping to their elastic waists and side seams. Other seasonal styles included black jeans with leopard print piping and washed red for a Nantucket vibe. Color denim was a popular choice for Colac Jeans. The German brand lighted its core collection of indigo denim with pale pink and blue high-waist super slim jeans. Iridescent coating added a subtle sparkle to white jeans, while distressed metallic purple racer stripes accented washed blue jeans.
Similar trends were echoed in women’s belts.
Tom Tailor offered braided metallic leather belts and a host of neon options. A rep said bestsellers at the show were skinny neon belts and brown belts with neon green, orange or pink edging. Some were enhanced translucent acrylic belt buckles. Vanzetti also captured the neon wave with mixing neon green with animal prints. The brand’s statement item was a nylon belt with the repeated statement: “We [heart] Karl”—a nod to the late German fashion icon Karl Lagerfeld.