We’re back with day 2 insights from the Berlin’s Bread & Butter trade show, analysing key apparel developments through the lens of commercial data. The event is Europe’s largest street and denim show, and an excellent precursor of what’s up next in the youth market. Over to our live Berlin correspondents!
Metallic Males
Metallics have been a trend in womenswear for two seasons now, but Bread & Butter breathed life into the menswear take on this trend. Floris van Bommel’s beautifully crafted dress shoes shimmered like tropical fish with their iridescent glints. At HUMÖR, a more casual (but no less attention-grabbing) style was used to translate the trend – a mirrored windproof jacket with great reflective properties.
The trend continued to be backed by the womenswear exhibitors too – with lurex yarns adding flecks of shine to denim at SisterS Point and running through knits at b. young. The market is ready for new metallic arrivals, with 5,685 new metallic apparel products coming online in the last month, of which 10% were menswear. In the last 12 months, the luxury market’s metallic offering has grown from 16% to 18%. London Collection Men’s this month has given further designer backing to the trend – with shimmering surfaces at Nazir Mazhar and COMMON.
Monochrome Mayhem
Monochrome was the best selling colour combination of SS13, and brands and retailers are rightly reluctant to move away from a trend with such consumer demand. This story took two routes at Bread & Butter: the first a retro story for womenswear, the 60s vibe strongest in houndstooth at Barbour. The second story is befitting of a younger market, with urban, photographic prints in the stark palette. The menswear exhibitors in the D.O.C.K area used strong slogans and imagery on sweaters and sporty pieces.
Being very visual, monochrome is a great trend for merchandising, both online and in store, which has contributed to its strong growth commercially.
Paisley Persists
All power to the paisley – it’s the print adding relief to a sea of florals. Our analysts at the show have spotted an array of menswear paisley, set on polka dot ground at Fred Perry, decorating patch pockets on tees at Penguin and in washed-out forms on plain tees from Cuckoo. Menswear accounts for 32% of the current online paisley offering, with the top five men’s retailers of the trends being: Nordstrom, Farfetch, Barney’s, Selfridges and Bluefly. 19% of menswear paisley products are in the luxury segment, compared to 13% of womenswear paisleys – a sign that there’s a longer lifespan in the trend’s life for menswear than women’s.
We’ll be sharing our Day 3 insights with you tomorrow, before announcing our Top 5 Bread & Butter Brands. In the meantime, catch up on Day 1 here.
