We’re rested and raring to go with another year of data crunching and fashion insights. To kick-start 2012, we’ve compiled a list of top 10 things that will be influencing fashion globally this year. Happy New Year!
2012: The hot list
1. Couture Comeback
Attention turns to couture as the Chambre Syndicale award Giambattista Valli couture status (after just one show – it normally takes 5 years to be couture-approved) and Versace announce their return to the couture calendar this January after an 8 year absence. From May 2012-January 2013 the V&A will play host to Ballgowns: British Glamour Since 1950, showcasing royal and celebrity gowns alongside design classics. Bring on the frocks!
2. Olympic Fever
With the much-anticipated 2012 Olympics kicking off in London on the 27th July, the impact on fashion will be felt worldwide. The SS12 shows were awash with sports luxe influences; from Alexander Wang to Versus, each city offered its own interpretations. Sports luxe was the most-liked trend during fashion month, with an overwhelming 78% of sentiment towards it being positive. Keep eyes peeled for mesh fabrics and crisp colour palettes.
3. A Right Royal Affair
If you think the world got enough of a royal hit in 2011, considering the Duke and Duchess of Cambridges’ nuptials and Prince Albert of Monaco’s wedding to Charlene Wittstock, 2012 brings yet more royal fever. Queen Elizabeth II will celebrate her Diamond Jubilee in June this year, which the UK celebrates with an extended public holiday. The heritage trend that was so popular for AW11/12 will get an extra boost, and we expect to see it still around in AW12/13.
Read more about the heritage trend.
4. The colours
2012 will be the year of Yves Klein, after 36 collections in the SS12 shows featured the precise same shade. Also trending will be pillar-box red, grey, orange and chartreuse.
See our colour reports for more.
5. 1920s Triumph
With the much anticipated Baz Luhrmann re-make of The Great Gatsby starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan set for release in December, designers globally will be looking to the Prohibition-era archives for inspiration. Blue Note, one of our future forecast themes takes the 1920s trend to new levels.
Read more about our future forecasts.
6. Enter, South Korea
South Korea takes to the world stage this year, when it hosts the World Expo in Yeosu from May-August. The theme is ‘The Living Ocean and the Coast’ – no coincidence that a number of SS12 shows featured underwater themes!
7. Floral Focus
Digital print florals will blossom and bloom this spring, following the incredible SS12 displays from Peter Pilotto, Mary Katrantzou, Erdem, Christopher Kane and Marni (to name but a few). Gone are the ditsy prints of seasons gone by, this year technological techniques will take to the fore, colours will be vivid and shrinking violets will need to man up. Look to Topshop, ASOS and Zara for the speediest of highstreet interpretations.
8. The designers to watch
The designer/retailer collaboration has proved its worth – 2011’s stellar show from H&M and Versace firmly cemented the idea in every fashion marketing exec’s mind. So onwards with 2012 and the next crop of soon-to-be sell outs. Mary Katrantzou, whose online fanbase has already seen a 65% increase in the past three months, will team up with Topshop for a second time. Her fourteen piece collection will no doubt sell out within hours of its February release. Also keep eyes peeled for Karl Lagerfeld for Net-a-porter, Marni for H&M and round two of Versace for H&M.
Read about the marketing genius of Versace for H&M.
9. Grown-up fairytales
This year will see the release of three updated fairytales for an adult audience, which will signal something of a trend in femininity with sinister undertones. Hansel and Gretel: The Witch Hunters will be up first in March, starring Gemma Arterton and Jeremy Renner. Snow White and The Huntsmen will follow in June, starring Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart with Jack the Giant Killer with Nicholas Hoult released in the same month. This will no doubt have an effect on AW12/13 collections, think homespun winter warmers and creepy evening dresses.
10. And….the end of the world
If all that wasn’t enough to look forward to, brace yourselves for the end of the world in December. Well, that’s according to the Mayan calendar which expires on the 21st December. We’re throwing caution to the wind and already investigating trends well into 2013, but the emphasis on Mayan culture will trickle through into the fashion sphere…
Katie Smith
