The evergreens from Christine Boland's SS25 forecast: These trends are here to stay

While Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg were grappling with several days of sub-zero temperatures, attendees of Dutch trend forecaster Christine Boland’s SS25 webinar were immersed in a summer ambiance. Although the summer of 2025 is still a long way off, there's much to look forward to, as evident from the trend forecast. FashionUnited gives an overview of some of the highlights.

Despite the sunny view outside during the webinar, Boland noted that we have been experiencing ‘dark days’ for months. “We desperately need inspiration and creativity,” Boland asserted. “Beauty as a solace.”

She acknowledged that old societal systems are becoming increasingly strained, while new ones emerge. The world now stands precisely at the crossroads of these two. “We are in the wrinkle zone.” She also highlighted a positive note, as creativity flourishes in challenging times. “Nothing and no one can stop it.”

All in all, Boland divides her trend forecast into three overarching narratives, each comprising five chapters. Plenty of inspiration for the 300-plus designers, buyers, and other professionals in the digital audience. These three narratives and fifteen chapters repeatedly feature various elements. Boland also stressed that the trends covered are trends or patterns that have sometimes been seen for several seasons, but have a different focus or refinement for SS25.

A fixture for SS25: Quiet luxury

First and foremost, the trend forecaster cannot overlook ‘quiet luxury’. In a world constantly offering new options and requiring decisions, many consumers, and people in general, yearn for a pause button and tranquillity. It is one of the reasons why ‘quiet luxury’ resonates so well. At first glance, the designs are simple, yet of high quality. They provide order and clarity, while the materials feel rich and comforting. The luxury in these designs is often found in the combination of tactilities, such as knitwear paired with silk.

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The simplicity of the designs is also often seen in the ‘utility’ style, present in collections for several seasons. This too is a keeper for SS25, along with ribbed fabrics. As a participant in the webinar, it was almost impossible not to feel instantly more calm when hearing this trend story. A welcome change amidst the ever-shifting world.

Trends: For SS25 playfulness in ‘redesigned classics’

In the spirit of change, there is much playfulness in heritage. This takes many forms, often boiling down to ‘redesigned classics’. Whether it's classics like the white shirt, the blazer, or a trench coat modernised through a tweak, or the combination of various ‘heritage’ prints. Not to mention the blending of brand heritages, such as the collaboration between Erdem and the English brand Barbour.

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This tendency offers ample room for play. Whether it’s experimenting with proportions to reinterpret a classic, or weaving together various decades. It's no surprise that brands revisit their own heritage to create redesigned and reissued versions. Take, for example, a recent Gucci show the new creative director Sabato de Sarno modernised designs by Tom Ford, one of his predecessors at the luxury brand.

Christine Boland on SS25: “Embrace the limitless”

For those seeking to push or even blur boundaries, Boland proposed a third movement which is all about ‘embracing the limitless’. Within this theme, Boland often talks about “Is it generated or grown?”. This refers to the digital world and the traditional world of textiles, but also to designs where one can't quite discern what they are. But does it matter? For example: are they butterfly wings, or are they cells depicted? And does that make the design in question less beautiful or more beautiful?

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Inspiration from nature, and even mimicking natural phenomena, have a strong influence within this trend story. The underwater world, in particular, captivates the imagination. Jellyfish with their graceful, yet sometimes dangerous, tentacles, the play of colours, sometimes even fluorescents - variations of these can be found on the catwalks. Through shine, watery effects, and fabrics that move fluidly, an almost optical illusion is created.

During the webinar, Boland does emphasise that this is a trend that has been around for some time, but is becoming increasingly refined. Elements that recur a lot in this 'design language' includes pleats, but also fringes and ruffles. While these elements may seem dreamy, they sometimes also possess a surrealistic quality due to the volume and the colour combinations Boland presents.

These are just a few of the themes and options the trend forecaster laid during her SS25 webinars. It's up to the attendees to feel what resonates with them and sticks, and to work with that. It remains crucial for a brand, for instance, to stay authentic and embrace design elements that align with its identity. Boland simply provides the tools and a hefty dose of inspiration. It's up to businesses to take it from there.

This article was originally published on FashionUnited.NL. Translation and edit from Dutch into English: Veerle Versteeg.