Trend Journal Gillian Ware
This soft lounge story leads us into the winter months with cosy wool-mix fabrics and comfort layering. Tapping into the growth of fluid home-office lifestyles, this story sits somewhere between work and leisure dressing, and sees wardrobe essentials become more refined. Slim knitted tops have high necks and long sleeves, and work perfectly with outsized wide-leg trousers.
Home Comfort
Classically Trained
Barre fitness embraces its ballet roots with elegant lines, sculpted silhouettes and premium performance fabrics that offer a sense of understated luxury. Ath-luxe technical cashmeres, lustrous satins and chiffons offer an interplay of contrasting textures, while soft draping and sinuous pleating accentuate the female form takes inspiration from classical sculptures. Soft neutral tones and metallic sheens add to the feminine feel and create a sense of movement.
Modest Feminity A modest and feminine aesthetic emerges for silhouettes, with high neck lines, high-waisted briefs, and fuller-coverage bras. Materials are also more demure and classic. Victorian-inspired laces, opaque stretches, and milky or dotted sheers are chosen to veil rather than reveal
Silky Utility Slip A simple slip with a tank silhouette offers a casual, feminine look, and remains an important and versatile piece for creating layered looks in and out of the home.
Natural Bra Top & Shorts This soft bra top has a high-apex silhouette and is paired with a high-leg short. The set is perfect for sleeping, and features hand-dying effects for a natural
Shearling Fur
The shearling jacket continues to gain momentum for A/W 18/19 thanks to its versatility and strong commercial viability. Exposed shearling is the newest direction for outerwear, with deep pile fabrics appearing on the exterior rather than as a lining. Think about full shearling trucker jackets or jeans as a cosy update, or add shearling in as an accent alongside hints of denim. Oversize 1970s collars are a novel update for women's outerwear, as is overdyed colour as an alternative to ecru.
College Compositions The creative freedom of art schools inspires this story, which balances Midcentury Modernist influences with a softer bohemian mood. Classic collegiate stripes and checks feature lively compositions of colour and scale. Application: shirting, tops, dresses, separates, jackets, soft accessories, outerwear.
Learned Stripes Collegiate stripes follow the conventions of classic university style, with silky boating and tie stripes that offer a sense of smartness. Colours are inspired by the faded and dusty tones of leather- and textile-bound novels.
Adaptable Utility Essential performance fabrics have a well-travelled, lived-in feel. Compact cottons are waxed and proofed; polyesters are soft, matte and colour-woven in aspect; and sleeping-bag quilting comes with sherp a fleece for a modern nomadic look.
New Quilted Bulky quilts and wadding are important for A/W 18/19 and tie in with the season's theme of protection. Proportion is used to create a sense of protection with exaggerated quilting in classic diamond or grid formations as well as more decorative herringbone looks. Combine with complementary oversize check patterns for a more considered look.
Humble Artefacts
Humble unrefined adornments are celebrated, inspired by the exploration of new lands and a new emotional landscape. This directional theme offers an opportunity to experiment with materials and surface, with items that appear to be unearthed from the ground or crafted to become a simple, functional accessories.
Urban Utility Standard-issue military items are updated with a contemporary, urban attitude. Exterior pockets and drawstrings are key for bags, and across-body styling emerges as a directional must-have. The utility boot uptrends, and dogtags offer an ideal way to bring personalisation to product offer.
Decorative Arts Rich surfaces and details are inspired by artistic craftsmanship, and channel the spirit of London's Bloomsbury Group. Tapestry and embroideries uptrend, while all-over print applications offer a more accessible buy into the look. Tonal colours offer a sense of old-world elegance and a subtlety that is ideal for everyday items.
Art School The creative freedom of art schools inspires this bold transseasonal story. Sculptural forms and expressive sketches are key, and styling and colour pairings are irreverent, offering a charming, experimental look with a bohemian attitude.
Urban Bricolage Street furniture such as bollards, chainlink fences, padlocks and plates inspire a heavy-duty, industrial direction for jewellery and hardware. The juxtaposition of exaggerated detailing with refined materials such as patent leather or plush velvet works well for occasion and partywear.
Power Primaries This collegiate palette has a back-to-school enthusiasm. Powdered Blue has a midcentury feel, but Merit Red and Bold Buttercup add a freshness that brightens and enlivens the palette. This play between off-kilter primaries aligns well with the casual and active markets.
Pale Blues
This commercial fashion story features a purplish tint with the focus shifting to unisex hues for the European market. Inspired by Brutalist architecture, forms are graphic and clean, and yet this hue – Powdered Blue – retains a level of softness. Look to Powdered Blue and Apple Blossom for softness to temper otherwise masculine silhouettes.
Orange is a regional favourite, and evolves into brownish tones for A/W 18/19. The LATAM-specific colour of Fudge becomes luxurious when used on plush materials such as leather and velvet, and can also be used to update classic neutrals.
Orange Tinted Browns
Retro Pastels
Pinks shift towards warm, peachy tones. Retro Rose is a Europe-specific tone, and together with Primrose, creates a luxuriously layered colour effect. The hues can seem dry and mineral-like or lightweight and transparent, depending on the materials used.
Grounded Greens Heritage Green is particularly suited to the US market, and perfect for the Autumn Transitional drop – think casual chinos and layering pieces. This is more of a fashion tone than the teals of recent seasons, and chimes well with this palette's refined classic