Li Edelkoort on fashion post-corona: “The blank page starts in SS22”

The world yearns for perspective, for a glimpse of what is to come in a post-corona world. Live from Normandy, trend forecaster Lidewij Edelkoort shared her vision on the Spring/Summer 2022 season during an Appletizer webinar. On the screen appears a happy Edelkoort who looks toward the future, enjoys the break the world is in and is excited about the blank page which will follow after. FashionUnited shares some insights from its trend forecast 'Blank Page'.

To start on a positive note: Edelkoort believes that the summer of 2022 will be corona-free, or at least very close to freedom. SS22 is the moment that a new chapter will start, according to Edelkoort, and one has to think about that chapter right now. The title of her forecast 'Blank Page' refers to her source of inspiration, paper, but also to the new start. A paper on which to sketch how things can and should be done differently. "We are looking at our goal again, how are we going to fulfill it?" Edelkoort got the idea for her forecast last November, even before the pandemic, but in any case, the forecaster always has a good sense of the time. She was already busy collecting sources of inspiration and took a pile of paper with her to South Africa last February where she eventually stayed for four months because she could not leave the country. In South Africa she found the time to think about the theme she presented during the webinar.

Fashion in SS22: “Basic collection is the spine of a brand and is supplemented with 'puffs of pleasure'"

The webinar is full of examples from paper. Robust paper, cardboard, wrapping paper, crepe paper: it goes in all directions. As one might expect, the colors white and beige predominate in the forecast - something that continues from her forecast of FW 21/22. Edelkoort knows how to translate the various forms of paper into fabrics. For example, origami becomes pleated blinds, crumpled paper becomes flounces, the structure of paper becomes wool or jacquard. How the trend forecaster manages to attach its prediction to a theme each season and makes each reference seem logical remains an art. Although the majority of the color palette is white to sandy, there are also color stories that are more like pastel shades or a brightly colored palette in which Edelkoort has taken the example of colorful and festive crepe paper.

In addition to all references to paper, Edelkoort makes a few other remarkable statements. First of all, she believes in the future of the monoproduct. She expects brands that focus on one product and perfect it to do well. Stores that focus on one type of item are also the future. In addition, in the prediction an item emerges as the item of SS22. The highwaisted, wide-legged, white denim. The denim is also stiff, Edelkoort explains, how denim used to be when the wearer still had to really shape a pair of trousers to his or her body. “This will be the basis of tomorrow. This silhouette also has an immediate impact on everything else around it, because the high waist makes the tops shorter, for example, ”explains the trend forecaster.

Edelkoort expects two movements to take place in the summer of 2022. The basis of the fashion world is a mix of activewear with fashion. This type of clothing is used in everyday life and everything around it. She describes the fashion system as a skeleton: "The basic collection is like the spine". On top of the basic collection is a layer of very distinct, cheerful and visually interesting clothing to use to celebrate life. “Attached to the skeleton are little oomphs of pleasure,” says Edelkoort. “The basic collection becomes the brand's basic income and the pieces of pleasure are a splurge for the customer as well as for the designer.” Fun and celebration of life will be a great need in the summer of 2022, all we can hope is that Edelkoort's prediction is a self fulfilling prophecy, so that the summer of 2022 is indeed corona-free and is all about celebrating life.

This article was originally published on FashionUnited.NL, translated and edited to English by Kelly Press.

Main image: Maison Margiela Couture, AW17, via Catwalkpictures.com

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