Lidewij Edelkoort: “We’re moving towards a wider silhouette”

Indian summer, brighter colors and the impact of technology in our daily lives: these are some of themes that will mark Autumn/Winter in 2019-2010, according to Dutch trendwatcher Lidewij Edelkoort. She led a trendwatching seminar in Holland this week, organized by international forecaster, Appletizer. FashionUnited attended the event and shares her forecasts.

Weeks before Autumn begins, clothing stores are usually dominated by a sea of dark colors. “It’s still August, the Sun is shining, and then you walk into a store and everything is dark. It’s like suddenly jumping from a bright summer world into a dark inkpot. Nobody wants that”, pondered the trendwatcher.

She advises fashion brands and retailers to sell lighter colors in the beginning of the fall season, gradually moving on to darker shades, according to demand. The same goes for spring and summer: start with darker tones and slowly move on to brighter ones. The color palette for the season, which Edelkoort always presents at her seminars, also reflects this proposed shift: “my color palette has never been so light for winter. Maybe not even in the summer!”, she said, laughing.

Edelkoort’s advice regarding brighter colors is also in line with the rather recent movement by fashion retailers to offer consumers what they need at the exact moment of purchase. Many retailers practice “see now, buy now” nowadays, or delay deliveries of winter jackets, for example, so they are not on the shelf in August, when they will most likely not be purchased.

Four major developments for Autumn/Winter 2019-2020, according to Lidewij Edelkoort

Two recurrent themes in the trends mentioned by Edelkoort are the Sari, the traditional costume worn in India, and firm fabrics with extensive patterns, which resemble carpets. The influence of the sari and other robes is predicted to be seen in the draped fabrics and longer lengths present in the loose robes, wrapped jackets, flowy skirts and light tunics showcased during the seminar.

Edelkoort also forecasted fabrics that resemble carpets, or that are made out of recycled carpet, to be a big trend in the Autumn and Winter of 2019-2020. In addition to providing protection to the wearer, such stiff, rich fabrics follow a growing trend to reuse or repurpose materials once used for couch covers or rugs. Those materials are to become more and more visible, according to the trendwatcher.

The next trend mentioned by Edelkoort can already be spotted in current collections. “The silhouette we’re working with now is narrow, but we’re absolutely moving towards a wider one”, she said. Wide legs, big kimonos, it can’t get big enough. “Young people are more scared than ever before. Many young designers are creating pieces that look like they want to hide or protect people”, she explained. Hence the influence of the sari, which helps to create this larger, more fluid silhouette.

Autumn/Winter 2019-2010, according to Lidewij Edelkoort: romance and color

Another trend that has definitely not gone away yet is romance. Edelkoort said she didn’t want to mention romance as a trend, but her research pointed out that this theme is still very influent and should remain fashionable until 2019 and 2020.

By “romance”, she meant light and airy designs with references to innocence, angelic figures and the human as “God”. Fashion and materials will help us to “completely immerse ourselves in the mysterious”, according to Edelkoort. Think of light, airy dresses, tunics and trousers embellished with lace, high collars and puffy sleeves.

Finally, Edelkoort concluded her seminar by advising fashion brands to “invest in color”. Not only by selling lighter colors in the winter, as she mentioned in the beginning, but also in harmonizing the colors in the collection: “maybe you should try it in a different way”.

This article was originally published at FashionUnited.nl. Translated by Marjorie Van Elven

Images 1 + 4: Catwalkpictures, Stephane Rolland en Valentino

Images 2 + 3: Karim Adduchi via Peter Stigter