TO BUSINESS Back to the future

TECHNOLOGY, SUSTAINABILITY AND MOTHER NATURE ALL PLAY VITAL ROLES IN SS24’S BIGGEST TRENDS

As buyers begin to make their selections for SS24, key trends are emerging that could influence what shoppers will buy next year. Here are some of the most important developments to know about…

1. IMPROVED SUSTAINABILITY

For SS24, fashion is expected double down on its sustainability commitments. According to the team at Parisian trade show Premiere Vision, designers are now rethinking the entire garment production process – from initial drawings and fabrics to end of life or rebirth. “The resistance of materials is verified by numerous tests to ensure their durability,” its SS24 trends report highlights. “Compositions are adapted to ensure recyclability, aiming for single-material products, or the use of detachable components.

Innovation is moving into the field of biodegradability, with new developments intended to optimise a product’s capacity to decompose.” Indeed, SS24 materials are very much evolving in response to expectations triggered by responsible sourcing. Traceability will become even more important as brands seek certified materials that guarantee their origin as well as minimal environmental impact.

2. NATURE-VERSE

As Pure London’s overriding theme for SS24, the Nature-Verse trend denotes the collide of digitalisation with conscious fashion. Trend forecaster and fashion designer Malaïka Ewande, founder of creative consulting bureau Vesuvius, will unveil the ideas behind it during a live session on-stage at this month’s show. “Beyond a simple exploration of our world’s digitalisation, Nature-

Verse finds its roots in the use of technology in favour of nature,” she says. “The future of fashion is digital, but what exactly does that imply when it comes to sustainability, and how do we reconcile the two?”

3. ALL ABOUT HER!

According to Pure London, another key trend for the season, All About Her, addresses the idea of identity and how this translates to fashion. “In this super-fast paced world, asserting yourself and your beliefs has become crucial,” Malaïka explains. “In womenswear, this has translated through several collective identities and views that built the trends for the season. The entire idea here is to stand out on your own terms. Whether she’s facing her new reality in a digital world, claiming her own voice or simply searching for inner peace in culture and nature, the woman of SS24 is doing it all for her and her alone as the world carefully watches.”

4. DIGITAL DÉCOR

As high-tech digitalisation seeps into fashion, homewares are also set to become more futuristic for SS24. However, nature still plays an important role so buyers can still expect a merging of the two. For example, floral motifs will be re-imagined as hallucinatory digital visions. “There will be ever-more advanced digital treatments of decorations this season anchored by a rich aesthetic tradition,” says Premiere Vision. “Flowers are twisted and transformed into quasi-abstract overexposed motifs resembling scans or appearing washed out. Even nineteenthcentury style floral prints skew futuristic, creating saturated pops of colour on transparent bases like water projected onto a screen.” Elsewhere, organic materials and an overarching minimalism defines the season’s aesthetic, with tradition techniques like knitting and macrame featuring heavily alongside fabrics created to look like plants, foliage and trees.

As an engagement and wedding ring specialist, we love to incorporate technology into our procedures. And despite the jewellery industry being quite traditional (some may say old-fashioned), I believe Artificial Intelligence (AI) could really transform the way we all work.

As a brand offering bespoke services, AI could make the design process significantly more efficient for my brand. It could mean popping customer’s ideas into AI, and seeing their perfect engagement ring emerge after just a few tries. Our design team could then use this design to create a CAD model and produce the real thing. In a changing retail environment where more and more consumers are shopping online, this could be a game changer for brands.

But it’s not just the jewellery industry that could benefit. This type of AI technology is applicable to so many sectors and I can only see it becoming more prevalent in the coming years. Graphic designers could save hours of precious time; consumers will be able to see different sofa styles superimposed in their living rooms without having to visit a store. The possibilities are endless, which is why the thought of AI in retail is both exciting and a little bit scary.

Another possibility is using AI to point customers in the right direction, whether this be towards the right product or the perfect team member for their needs. Just by answering a series of questions, a customer's journey could be much quicker and with less frustration.

Live chat functions could also be made significantly more streamlined using AI. Customers would get the answers they need, and the team members behind the scenes would only be required to jump in when a more complex query comes up, saving the company time and money.

When it comes to stock management and other operations, AI could be transformative. Stock could be monitored, analysed and ordered without any need for manual tracking or human intervention. Analysing reports usually takes a significant amount of time, but the use of AI for this type of task would increase efficiency and remove human error. And from a productivity and financial standpoint, that can only be positive.

In our own business, we have already found AI to be beneficial for copywriting purposes. We’ve all seen the use of ChatGPT skyrocket, and it is incredibly useful for writing product descriptions and other copy at the click of a button. These tasks can be incredibly time consuming, but now the process has become much more streamlined. It also helps those without a natural writing ability produce fantastic copy.

On the flip side, it can be incredibly frustrating when you want to speak to a human being and it isn’t an option. Having to jump through hoops to speak to anyone but a robot isn’t providing good customer service. However, as a person who has been on the receiving end of angry customers (justified or not), it would certainly be a relief to reduce these interactions using AI as the middleman.

In conclusion, I believe that AI could change retail for the better, as long as it is used in the right way. The younger generations may be more inclined to a technology-based approach, for example, whereas older generations may still expect a more traditional retail experience (or, in another decade, that could come full circle). When it comes to technology, I think balance is always best.

Jessica Flinn-Allen is the founder of Sheffield-based brand Jessica Flinn Fine Jewellery; jessicaflinn.co.uk