Key Men's catwalk material trends Spring Summer 2020

Trendstop brings FashionUnited readers a first look at the essential materials stories emerging for the Spring Summer 2020 menswear season.

The Trendstop team give FashionUnited readers an exclusive look at three key materials directions from the men's Spring Summer 2020 runways, that will be informing the market throughout the season and beyond. Leathers and materials break boundaries with developments that traverse traditional fashion notions of gender and season specifics. Our curated catwalk trend reports, dedicated galleries and specialist materials coverage evaluates each trend's commercial value and longevity, giving you the best possible basis for your decision making.

This week Trendstop present three influential SS20 menswear material advancements. Considered Translucencies extracts the essential qualities of womenswear sheers, reimagined for the male consumer while Transeasonal Padding crosses the seasonal divide with warm weather translations. Refined Tonal Reptile heightens the luxury experience of exotic hides with elevated finishing techniques.

Considered Translucencies

Sheer fabrics transition from the womenswear market, offering fresh options for men's seasonal apparel and accessories. Masculine pastels and tinted pales highlight weightless qualities with subtle overprinting adding an extra dimensionality. Translucent materials put a high summer spin on flowing co-ords and sportswear-inspired silhouettes.

Images courtesy of Trendstop, left to right: Louis Vuitton, Dior Homme, Acne Studios all Spring Summer 2020.

Refined Tonal Reptile

Exotic skins are elevated further via tonal colour-ways that refine shallow valleyed scale textures. Applied to both apparel pieces and accessories, sophisticated neutral hues enhance the luxury feeling while pared back detailing and minimal or self-trims ensure premium leather finishes remain the central focus.

Images courtesy of Trendstop, left to right: Giorgio Armani, Dior Homme, Amiri, all Spring Summer 2020.

Transeasonal Padding

A hugely popular fabric story for fall/winter, padded and quilted effects bridge the gap to spring/summer with a lighter weight look. Softly puffed effects bring unexpected airy volume to tees while outerwear pieces such as gilets have a subtle thermal quality. Fine stitched quilted sneaker paneling introduces an outdoorsy appeal to performance sports footwear.

Images courtesy of Trendstop, left to right: OAMC, Numero 00, Fendi, all Spring Summer 2020.

Exclusive Offer

FashionUnited readers can get free access to Trendstop's Fall Winter 2019-20 Key Materials Directions featuring all the must have materials developments to inspire your seasonal collection. Simply click here to receive your free report.

Trendstop.com is one of the world's leading trend forecasting agencies for fashion and creative professionals, renowned for its insightful trend analysis and forecasts. Clients include H&M, Primark, Forever 21, Zalando, Geox, Evisu, Hugo Boss, L'Oreal and MTV.

* This article was originally published here

Sabine Skarule wins H&M Design Awards 2020

Sabine Skarule, a graduate from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium, has been named the winner of H&M’s annual design awards.

The Latvian designer was announced as the winner on Thursday evening in Berlin after her collection, inspired by the craft of her home country, was selected by a panel of industry experts, winning her a prize valued at 50,000 euros.

Established in 2012, the award, which is now in its ninth year, celebrates young and upcoming talent from around the world. This year, BA and MA graduates from 42 selected design schools in 17 countries were considered for the award.

Skarule’s winning collection drew inspiration from her Latvian childhood, with her knitting techniques inspired by clothing she made with her mother. She incorporated a fresh twist by playing with the scale of stitches and folkloric patterns, contrasting with sharp yet feminine tailoring.

“It’s unbelievable. Winning the H&M Design Award is such an amazing starting point for me to begin my own label. This prize opens the door, and gives me the freedom to fulfil my dreams,” Skarule commented at the awards.

The jury this year included Priya Ahluwalia, who won the H&M Design Award 2019; fashion photographer Felix Dol Maillot; fashion director of Glamour Germany, Véronique Tristam; London-based talent supporter Harry Fisher; and H&M’s creative advisors Ann-Sofie Johansson and Margareta van den Bosch.

Johansson commented: “Sabine’s collection was truly amazing. It was such an emotional collection that really touches you. There were so many different elements, so much craft and technique. It makes you want to see more.”

Photo courtesy of H&M

* This article was originally published here

Trouva secures 17 million pound investment to fund international growth

London-based retailer Trouva has received a 17 million pound investment to help fuel its international expansion.

The funding, led by Octopus Ventures alongside C4 Ventures, Downing Ventures, BGF and LocalGlobe, will help the company “further establish itself as the global destination for the best of independent retail” and comes as the online marketplace officially launches its German website.

Trouva also announced the appointment of Juliet Warkentin as chief marketing officer. She joins from Amazon Fashion and has previously worked as editor at Drapers and Marie Claire.

Commenting on the new investment in a statement, co-founder Mandeep Singh, said: “At Trouva, we envision a world where beautiful offline inventory is easily available to all. Over the last 12 months, we’ve taken important steps in achieving this by further extending our platform to the greatest independents across Europe and nearly doubling our network of retailers, with top boutiques achieving hundreds of thousands of pounds of sales through Trouva.com.

Trouva eyes international growth

“We will be using this latest investment to grow international demand and are excited to officially launch in Germany as we start to broaden our customer base and expand into new European markets. As we continue to scale rapidly, we will also continue to build a world-class team with this funding round. We’re thrilled to bring Juliet onboard as chief marketing officer with her experience developing and managing high-profile brands.”

Today, 40 percent of Trouva’s retailer network comprises bricks-and-mortar stores outside of the UK, across 12 European countries.

The company was named one of the five most exciting high-growth startups in the UK, according to Startups 100 Index 2019.

Co-founder Alex Loizou, said: “We’re excited to be taking one more step towards solving one of the biggest questions in retail today: ‘Where do you go if you are looking for inspiration, and you don’t know what you want?’. We believe that the incredible wealth of inventory coming from the master curators of the offline world is the answer to that question. We’re at the forefront of this transformation of retail, one powered by inspiration and discovery which unites the best of online and offline.”

Launched in London in 2015, Trouva began its international expansion last year with the launch of 20 boutiques in Berlin. It now offers in excess of 200,000 products from more than 800 independents in over 300 towns and cities, including Paris, Lisbon, Rome and Barcelona.

Photo credit: Trouva, Facebook

* This article was originally published here

Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada speaks at IMF Business School

The IMF Business School inaugurated a new event format called "A Question for" to feature relevant personalities from different sectors and bring them closer to the public. As their first guest, IMF invited the fashion designer and aristocrat, Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada. During this session, both the audience and virtual attendees could ask the businesswoman and designer about the fashion industry, her career and everything related to her professional experience.

Ágatha Ruiz de la Prada admitted to being a bad student and shared that if she had obtained better grades she would have studied architecture instead. She also told the audience how she began her career when she was only 20 years old with Pepe Rubio, "It was just him and me, years that coincided with the Madrid movement (Movida Madrileña)-which made everybody focus on me. It helped me to get known, something that otherwise would have been very difficult. I always say that I was in the right place at the right time."

The designer didn't hesitate to confess that she doesn't like people wearing animal skin, tacky fashion, polluting and wasting. "I come from a family of ecologists who taught me not to waste and I'm convinced that this is the new challenge of fashion: sustainability. In my generation we have managed to democratize it, now is the time to make it sustainable," she explained. Like many other sectors, fashion is in constant transformation. That's why Ágatha thinks that "sometimes to build you have to destroy.”

Boris Izaguirre, the presenter Raquel Sánchez Silva and the Director of Fashion at S Moda, Natalia Bengoechea, were some of the guests that interviewed the designer and businesswoman. The event was moderated by Ton Pernas, coordinator of the IMF Business School Fashion MBA, who accompanied Ágatha in more than 30 questions that she answered in 90 minutes. Carlos Martínez, president of the IMF Business School, was in charge of closing the event.

Photo: courtesy of IMF and TresCom

* This article was originally published here

Vans taps artist Damien Hirst for latest collaboration

World-renowned British artist Damien Hirst has teamed up with American shoe brand Vans for its latest Vault by Vans collection, which features some of the artist’s most iconic motifs on a selection of the brand’s bestselling styles. According to an announcement from the brand, this collection is also made in partnership with Las Vegas’ Palms Casino Resort.

“It’s fabulous to be collaborating with Palms and Vans on this project,” Hirst said in a statement. “I’ve loved Vans and the artwork works brilliantly on these shoes. I can’t wait for people to see them.”

The Vault by Vans x Damien Hirst collection features six pieces, with designs like spots, butterflies, spin paintings and more on the Sk8-Hi and Classic Slip-On silhouettes, which each come in three different styles featuring the artwork. The exclusive collection is a continuation of Hirst’s partnership with the Palms Casino Resort, which showcases of the artists’ work, *The Unknown (Explored, Explained, Exploded) *in the center of its hotel as well as in its most expensive suite, the Empathy Suite.

The Vault by Vans x Damien Hirst collection will be available on Friday, Dec. 6 exclusively at the Vault by Vans retail store in New York and at the Palms Casino Resort.

Images: Courtesy of Vans

* This article was originally published here

Interactive poll: What do you think about the new Prada x Adidas collab?

It's finally here. The first pictures of the collaboration between German sportswear giant Adidas and Italian fashion house Prada were unveiled on Monday.

The limited-edition product sees the iconic Adidas Originals Superstar model in white adorned with black Prada logos. There are only 700 pairs and each comes with a different serial number. The shoes, as well as a white minimalistic bowling bag bearing the logos of the two brands, will be on from December 4.

Has the collaboration reached its creative potential, as some might initially have hoped?? Answer a few questions below to see what others think.

Picture: Adidas

* This article was originally published here

Annual Victoria's Secret fashion show cancelled

US lingerie brand Victoria's Secret said it was cancelling its annual fashion show which usually draws millions of TV viewers, saying it was shifting its marketing strategy following criticism and weak financial results.

"Did we see a specific material impact on short-term sales in response to the airing of the fashion show?" asked Stuart Burgdoerfer, the finance director of parent company L Brands.

"As a general matter, the answer to that question is no," he told analysts in a conference call Thursday.

He added that Victoria's Secret would be "communicating to customers, but nothing that I would say is similar in magnitude to the fashion show".

The brand's sales have been slipping in the past two years, weighing on the bottom line of L Brands which reported a net loss of 252 million USD in the third quarter, against a 43 million USD loss a year earlier.

Analysts say the brand is often accused of objectifying women and has been struggling to appeal to a younger generation of lingerie shoppers who increasingly prefer simpler, less sexualised designs.

"It's important to evolve the marketing of Victoria's Secret," Burgdoerfer said.

FashionUnited prediction from the archive:

• Victoria's Secret annual fashion show: Enjoy it while it lasts

VS Angels out of a job?

Rumours of the show's cancellation had been circulating since Australian model Shanina Shaik hinted to British media that she expected the 2019 event to be called off.

The cast in the show's 2018 edition was more cosmopolitan than usual, following criticism that the brand had little regard for diversity in its choice of models.

But days after last year's event, marketing director Ed Razek ruled out using transgender or plus-size models in future shows.

Following an outcry on social media, Razek later apologised for his remarks.

Also last year, the head of the lingerie division Jan Singer stepped down after only two years in the job against a backdrop of slumping sales.(AFP)

Background:

• Has Victoria's Secret cancelled its annual fashion show?
• Video: Why Victoria’s Secret Is Closing Dozens Of Stores
• It’s Time to Retire the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show

Beeld: Jewel Samad / AFP

* This article was originally published here