What will Spring/Summer 2017 bring? According to WGSN’s crystal ball, an eclectic combination of Eastern European street style, oversized silhouettes and black and white denim. WGSN Denim Editor Sam Trotman outlined four denim themes for the season at Kingpins Amsterdam (Oct. 28-29), where many of the key elements were on display, including orange peel, Tencel blends and white selvedge.
Here’s a look at the top fashions stories denim brands will be chasing in 2017.
Digital Eighties
This high-energy story for the young men’s and young women’s market smacks of ’80s nostalgia with denim worked in through hyper shades of red, black denim treated like indigo (think heavy treatment) and punk styling.
Patchwork with a DIY feeling, taped zippers, neon accents, scribble-like drawings and heat transfer patches add to the rebellious feeling. Meanwhile, metallic are replaced with colorful foil details and bleached denim is decorated with hand-painted color.
Digital interpretations of checks, many with glitches and imperfections, come into play and help update workwear-inspired pieces. Trotman noted that Prosperity Textiles and Blue Farm Textile offer good examples of the print. Needle-punching and pigment spray create ombre effects. Paint flickers add a starry, lightness to raw denim looks. Twisted yarns, digitized ikat patterns and noisy prints with a slubby texture add interest.
Coated indigo knit plays a strong role, included coated Tencel fabrications with a nylon appearance for bomber jackets and joggers. Indigo shadowing and masking techniques are used on tops and bottoms. Jackets with a two-tone, 50-50 look are a standout—a style Trotman said is already making waves in street fashion and at festivals.
Classic denim pieces, like trucker jackets, are retooled with jagged hemlines. Skinny jeans are embellished with considered cutouts. Matching denim ensembles create a new punk uniform. Key women’s items include voluminous truckers, skinny jeans with twisted seams and mini-skirts with contrasting panels. Skinny jeans with cropped lengths, gentle volumes, straight line coats for the premium market and hybrid workwear items make the cut for men.