The next big thing for textiles will be a return to simplicity, natural elements and fabrics that are less synthetic and more authentic, and a look to the scientific essence of our being. These elements will come together in a “mash-up” that will define the textiles we see for spring/summer 2015 (SS15).
At the opening day of Texworld USA at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center Monday, Texworld Art Directors Louis Gérin and Grégory Lamaud showcased these major textile trends for designers and took care not to interfere with the creative process by “selling” the trends.
The Texworld art directors laid out a trend display at the back of the center’s North Hall with four distinct pillars, one for each major trend, with one large design table at the center featuring elements from each trend and representing the point at which the trends merge in the sort of mash-up the directors say is the basis of the textile direction for Spring Summer 2015.
In an interview with Sourcing Journal, Gérin explained, “We have a particular way to work, but we are not imposing anything. It’s there for each one to take inspiration,” he said.
In the introduction of the trend program, Gérin and Lamaud outline the concept of the mash-up and explain what this will mean for textiles. “With the feeling that the next step would be decisive, we returned to our origins, dissected our past, mixed our cultures questioned what is innate and analyzed what is acquired. We let the body express itself, restrained passions and channeled thoughts. At the end of this search, the elementary particles dance before our eyes.”
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The main thing in terms of trends, Gérin said, is the mash-up. “Everything is mixing, ideas are fusing and the limits are less precise than before. Everything is mashing,” he said.
Blurring gender roles in favor of more androgynous creations is one major trend for SS15 or what the designers call, “Common Creature.” In thinking about men and women in recent years, women have made a lot of progress, Gérin said, and as a result, men have to find a new place; they are no longer “the king.” As a result, the trend is toward very masculine, classy attributes and a lot of formal suiting.
The color range includes a mix between blues and earth tones drawing on a return to nature, Gérin said.
Fabrics feature elements of animal skin, quilted fabrics, athletic wear fabrics applied to fashion textiles, muslin chiffon combos that play with transparency and a jacquard technique applied to knit.
“It’s much more of a reflection of man in society and of his place compared to women,” he said.
Last season, Gérin explained, there was a lot of buzz around the Paris-based exhibitionist feminist protest group, FEMEN and their continuous drive to empower women and “fighting patriarchy.”
“This is just a continuation of that and a reflection that man is less and less the king than he was before,” he said. “The man is not an exceptional person, he’s just a common creature like all the people on this Earth.” The mash-up lies in the man’s realization that his place has changed and he holds the same place as a woman, Gérin said.
“Indicable Border,” or the move toward less synthetic, more authentic textiles that not only imitate nature, but almost become it, was the second trend Gérin highlighted.
This trend is poetic and driven by the influences light has on color, Gérin said. “Eighty-nine percent of what we have on Earth is due to the heat we get from the sun,” he said. There will be a lot of metallic shades, but not the traditional metallic currently on the market that, for example, play off the light on the water and almost mimic it.
With more of the things we buy becoming non-material, like the cloud and our ever increasing use of the Internet, we’re being forced to rethink material, Gérin said. We’ll see a lot of geometric and organic patterns that are coming together and emphasizing the elements of light, Gérin said. “It is also a mash-up.”
The color range is subdued with natural sage tones and a flesh colored rose called “Carnal Case.”
Transparency will be key here with delicate fabrics and textured chiffons made to feel as light as flat chiffons and some velvet knits.
As humans we want to know everything, Gérin said, and the “Aseptic Blossoming” trend is given to the idea that in letting go of our hold and the pragmatic and scientific, we will return to imagination and desires, letting our inspiration come once again from nature.
“To control is not the answer,” Gérin said. “Nature doesn’t do mistakes,” he added. And in following that perfect imperfect, we’ll find the aseptic blossoming.
Floral themes and cellular patterns will be prominent and they will play to mix the natural with the unnatural and make them grow together, Gérin explained. The color palette will be heavily green with some indigo and an “Acid Fusion” orange.
Fabrics within this trend are supremely delicate, influenced by floral pattern work and made to have an “already worn” feel.
“Singular Ambiguity” was the fourth and final trend Gérin touched on. It draws on the notion that globalization has forced more community among humanity. The idea behind this trend is that humans can live more closely in peace without losing individual identity.
As far as textiles, Gérin said he sees a lot of mixing, an almost melting of sorts, with patterns. “Prints will mash many colors together, but each color will still have its own identity,” he said.
Colors here will be more primary with rouge tones and yellows and shades of grey. Textiles have quilted qualities, textured plaids and, again, inspiration from animal skin.
Sustainability is also a driving force behind each trend and design element and recycling also plays a major role in influencing the textiles we will see.
“We can’t always unearth new things, we have to use what we have,” Gérin said. We have to try to use old or repurposed objects to express something new in the future, Gérin added.
“Trends are not a prescription of what people need to wear or need to do, but should be a starting point to inspire creativity.”
Gérin said he sees people coming back to natural fibers or artificial fibers from natural origin like TENCEL. With better access to digital printing, prints are more abundant, more precise and designers have access to rich color quality, he said.
One prime example of a mash-up the art directors had on display was a graphic digital print with hand-cut silk dots hand spun to the fabric from Shin Co., Ltd. in Korea.
“People want more fabric with more stories and more emotion,” Gérin said. He added that this season, Korea has been the strongest for innovation and creativity and has been showcasing really great product.
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For more information on textile trends, visit Messe Frankfurt at: http://m.messefrankfurt.com/texworldusa-us/newyork/en/for-attendees/educational-program/trends.html