Color Trends for Children for Fall/Winter '09

We saw a move towards earth tones and deep, rich colors in children's apparel for Fall/Winter 2009. The color trends align with the focus on eco-friendly materials and designs for kid's clothing. The hues are grouped into 3 themes:

Chic: Inspired by digital prints and holograms. This trend is dominated by solid and cold tones. Midnight blues and earth tones as well as deep pink are opposing and in that way creating a world of playful patterns. The interaction of functional blues and structured browns open out onto turbulent explorations that burst forth in stormy alchemies.

Classic: Characterized by diluted color effects. Clean and earthy colors play a big role in this section. In curious combinations they seem to be like an experiment. Brown and green tones mixed together create a hint of mystery in combination with gray and foggy shades.

Casual: Reflect the style of mixed technologies. Juicy orange tones, drunken scarlets and neutral nuances combine in a dangerous relation. The way how a dynamic brilliance and shining is created seems like a magic formula. Pavement grays brought together with dazzling lights are a contrast to passionate and theatrical tones.

Source: Color Trends for Fall 2009/Winter 2010, Eco Kids With Fashion Focus

Color Trends for Children for Spring/Summer '09

Above: Agatha Ruiz de la Prada 2009 Spring/Summer Collection

While there seems to be a consistent trend towards bright colors in children's wear for the Spring/Summer seasons, we did see a few variations this year. Some of the trends for 2009 were:

For boys:

• khaki
• green
• orange
• beige

For girls:

• beige
• pink
• fuchsia
• yellow
• olive
  

For both:

• Calm classic colors (jeans blue, grey, white, black) with classic patterns and occasional drop of color in shoes or accessories
• Mixing traditional bright kids colors (pink, blue, yellow, green) with classic white, grey, and black
• Crazy color. Very fun and full of life approach of mixing every possible bright color into one fashionable mess.

Sources: Kids Fashion 2009, Summer 2009 Trends

Trends for Children for Spring/Summer '09

Above: Miss Grant 2009 Spring/Summer Collection

Spring/Summer 2009 saw the continuation of the organic clothing trend for children. Consumers were conscious of choosing clothing made from fabric that will be gentle on the skin and good for summer activities. We also saw the gap between adult and children's apparel trends getting even smaller, as children's sections of many department stores began to resemble adult ones. Some other trends were:

For Girls:

• Floral and animal patterns
• ABC Patterns
• Big summer hats and bright accessories
  
• Light tunic dresses, lengthened vests, or loose fitting tops over leggings
• Colorful tops with layered skirts
• Embroidered jeans
  

For boys:

• Overalls and pants with wider legs/looser fits
• Practical/functional pockets in pants
• T-shirts with printed on inscriptions, logos, or pictures
• Classic patterns/colors with an occasional drop of color in shoes or accessories

Sources: Kids Fashion 2009, Tendencies in Children's Fashion: Spring/Summer 2009, Summer 2009 Trends

Trends for Children for Fall/Winter '09

Above: Macy's

The trend of eco-friendly clothing was prevalent in children's wear for Fall/Winter 2009, as was the move towards clothing that will last longer and is worth the money that we saw in women's apparel this year. Retailers stuck to what they know, producing what has been proven to sell and has been popular with children in the past and is likely to remain in demand. Designers put new spins on successful '08 styles, with more streamlining, better value, and mix-and-match capability. The following depicts some trends seen for girls and boys this season:

Girls: Pleated tops, dusty rose and earth tones, leggings, short slim skirts, skinny pants, hooded sweaters, thermal underlayers, purple, terry cloth athletic wear, ruffles

Boys: Raglan baseball tees, buttoned henleys, skinny pants, recycled fleece hoodies, thermal underlayered shirts, logo athletic wear, vintage inspired pieces, rock and roll tees

Sources: Eco Kids with Fashion Focus: Fall 09 Organic Children's Fashion Trends, Fall Trends for Kids, Fall Fashions for Boys

Trends for Women for Spring '09

Above: Badgley Mischka Spring 2009

Spring 2009 brought back the 80's, embracing mismatched styling, sheer fabrics, and big accessories. "A number of trends emerged in terms of wearable covetable clothes, (and less covetable, like horrendous harem pants and all over animal prints). The hottest tips, according to "Its back to shoulder pads as Top Shop embraces the '80s'" by Liz Jones of the Daily Mail (September 16, 2008)is the clashing of colors….. piling on the layers…. and wearing anything sheer.”

Gill Hart gave a breakdown of the main trends from the runways of London Fashion Week for Spring '09:

• 1980s – think shoulder pads and power dressing
• Navy, cerise, lilac and lime -- clash those colors for a trendy look
• Ruffles and frills -- layer upon layer
• Sporty chic
• Peplum Waists
• Harem Pants - Jumpsuits
• All over animal prints
  

Glamour Magazine picked out the most wearable trends from New York Fashion Week for Spring 2009, leaving out the over-the-top, unflattering styles that were unlikely to be relevant in mainstream retail stores:

• Zipper accents
• Relax-fit pants
• The Sophisticated Trench
• Hot pink
• Oversize necklaces
• Black-on-white print
• The Oversize Pattern Bag
• Big Bangles
• A Touch of Neon
• Mix-and-Match Patterns
• Pastel suits
• Sequins
• The Military Jacket
• Color-Block prints
• '80's flair
• Embellished Boho

Sources: Spring 2009 Trends to Watch, Spring 2009 Fashion Week's Most Wearable Trends
Photo Source: Style.com

Key Looks for Women for Fall/Winter '09

Oscar de la Renta Fall 2009

Gill Hart picked out New York runway trends from Fall/Winter 2009 that would inevitably be seen in retail stores across the globe. Some of the styles she noted were:

• Animal prints
• Bold shoulders
• Less traditional fall hues: reds, blues, purples mixed with neutral gray & beige mixes
• Metallic tones
• Wintry bandage dresses
• One-shoulder toga style dresses, low necklines
• Texture: brocade, velvet, leather, lace, fur, chiffon
• Skin-tight bold colored leather trousers, cigarette pants, narrow-leg satin suit trousers

The German based European Trend Institute (ETI) came up with 4 key styles for women's apparel for Fall/Winter '09:

Realistic - A combination of subtle neutrals and glossy metallic provide some urban chic. Silk and jersey provide femininity and large graphic patterns take on a more softer look. The statement necklace plays an important part with shiny metallics and varnished ornaments, providing art-deco influences.

Sensitive - Voluminous but cosy fabrics in warm and dusty tones. Outercoats take on a semi-transparent quality, along with hairy light flannels. Think rich velvets in soft pastels, and seductive lace.

Magical - Warm forest-inspired tones of brown and forest-green. Plaids and checks are given a modern twist with an ombre effect and prints redefine animal motifs.

Expressive - An eclectic mix of folk, neohippie and artsy prints in unusual cold/warm contrasts. Denims, tweeds and checks provide a splash of high color.

Overall for women's apparel Fall/Winter '09 was about staple pieces like the little black dress, textured leather jackets and wide trousers with pleating. The boyfriend jacket remained strong as did pencil and dirndl skirts, and the key investment piece was a coat for all seasons in suede, silk twill or flannel.

Sources: New York Runway Trends for Fall 2009, Key Looks for Fall 2009

Color Trends for Spring/Summer 2009

For Spring/Summer 2009, Pantone released a set of more vibrant, hopeful colors in their color report in contrast to the more dismal hues for Fall/Winter 2009. According to Leatrice Eiseman (executive director of Pantone), "New York's fashion designers encourage hopeful attitudes with lively colors, while sophisticated, grounded hues address the need for stability in times of economic uncertainty." Once again Gill Hart summarized Pantone's set of hues:

• Palace Blue — a favorite amongst designers which takes a navy undertone and makes it sparkle. A cross between a sky blue and strong navy. This is a color which works with almost any other, pink, yellow, lavender or green.
• Lavender — the regal purple of fall has been adapted to a softer lighter lilac, feminine and romantic, and slightly mystical.
• Rose Dust — a pale pinky blue, which is a welcome break from traditional neutrals. Almost a white-washed lavender, this is one of the coolest colors.
• Slate Gray — a cool and calming nuanced neutral which provides a backdrop to any of Pantone’s 9 other colors and is a perfect pairing to lavender hues.
• Fuchsia Red –—Vibrant yet seductive, powerful and robust. Fresh and dazzling, fuchsia features heavily in nail polish and lipsticks too.
• Salmon Rose — Mixing a soft salmon pink with the subtleness of oranges which is flattering to most complexions and gives a warm healthy glow.
• Vibrant Green — a mossy mid-green which is bright but not harsh
• Dark Citron — a calm, almost olive color which blends perfectly with this season’s lemon tones.
• Lucite Green — a clean, subtle, soft green which adds a slight shimmer
• Super Lemon — brings a fun, optimistic outlook to the Palette,” states the Pantone Spring 2009 report. “Its luminosity is determined to evoke a smile and attract the roving consumer’s eyes.”

Sources: Pantone, Top 10 Fashion Colors for Spring 2009

Color Trends for Fall/Winter 2009

While the Chanel jade tone took the world by storm with its hopeful connotations, the overall color trends for Fall/Winter 2009 were more dismal, reflecting tough economic times. We saw less statement colors, and the move away from these tones "will help the clothes age at a slower rate and will help provide a safer purchase to allow a little more wear from your wardrobe during these times of economic instability." Gill Hart summarized these sophisticated and timeless hues presented by Pantone:

• American Beauty — this flattering true red is neither harsh nor over-the-top. Designed to suit all skintones, this warm but robust hue can be blended with almost any shade.
• Rapture Rose — represents all that is new and fresh about this fall’s designs. With nurturing and feminine tones, this color plays upon the vibrancy of last season’s fuschia but is toned down a little with soft pink. This key shade transcends clothing into cosmetics and accessories.
• Burnt Sienna — more a pinkish, earthy orange, reminiscent of Mediterranean terracotta roof tiles. Warm and comforting, probably the most-fall like of all the Panetone shades.
• Majolica Blue — adding an exotic feel to the color group this cross between teal blue and navy complements oranges and purple hues perfectly.
• Purple Heart — sitting somewhere between true purple and lilac, this refined tone is soft and sensual.
• Warm Olive — a rich yellowy green, reminiscent of an olive in a martini, which, according to Pantone's Fall 2009 report “makes all other colors come alive.”
• Honey Yellow — a warm and welcoming yellow with a hint of honeyed beige. A perfect partner to Burnt Sienna for a wintry feel.
• Crème Brûlée — needs no explanation for those who love its namesake, the delicious French desert. Providing one of fall’s classic neutrals, this paired down mix of gray and ivory beige looks good enough to eat!
• Nomad — another timeless neutral which falls between light gray and beige serves as an anchor for more robust colors
• Iron — represents the “new black” of the season. Neither a true gray nor brown it falls more in the category of a cross between slate and gunmetal. This serves as a grounding color for all other tones.

Sources: Pantone, Fashionising, Top 10 Fashion Colors for Fall Winter 2009/2010

The Masculine Trend

Above: Destructed boyfriend jeans from Gap

A strong trend we identified for this year for women was the masculine trend, with stores like Gap introducing "boyfriend" collections and the fall runway shows featuring masculine touches in the form of tweed fabrics, leather jackets, blazers, and studs. This trend includes slouchy cardigans, oversized T-shirts, blazers, military jackets, and cuffed jeans that could've been stolen from your boyfriend's closet. The look is comfortable and casual, but feminine details keep it from being frumpy. The following are examples seen on the fall 2009 runways and in mainstream retail store lookbooks:

Philip Lim

Vivienne Westwood

Lanvin

Forever 21 Fall 2009 lookbook

Urban Outfitters 2009 lookbook

Source: Tough Fashion Trends for Fall Winter 2009
Photo Source: Style.com, Gap.com, Forever21.com, Urbanoutfitters.com

The Jade Movement

There are many trends we wish to explore in the industry, but before giving a complete color trend report we would like to single out a certain shade that is omnipresent for this year’s fashions. Jade is one of fall’s most enviable shades and stones for the fall season, and everyone is racing to get their hands on everything this color (whether it be nail polish, jewelry, shoes, wallpaper, etc.).

Jade hues popped up in Chanel’s Ready-to-Wear Fall 2009-2010 collection in Paris both subtly (nail polish, rings, bag clasps, etc.) and boldly (see picture above), and the frenzy for green hues slowly began. A pale pink color dubbed “jade rose” also appeared in the collection, though it did not make quite as large of an impact as its sister color. Almost immediately after the fall show everyone was abuzz about getting their hands on the jade nail polish featured on the models (which is now in stores).

Chanel’s head designer and creative director Karl Lagerfeld stated that “Green is the color of hope.” Could the jade trend be a response to other patterns we’ve seen?

To see the complete Chanel Fall collection click here

Source: "The Green Movement," Vogue October 2009.

Picture source: Coutorture