Deep red, ocean blue and energizing green are the top three colors for menswear for Spring/Summer 2024, as predicted by trend experts Carlin Creative, WGSN and Nelly Rodi. The forecasts join the trend reports provided by the international textile fairs Première Vision and Texworld.
On the eve of the men’s Fashion Weeks in London, Milan and Paris, it seems that the common thread is the pursuit of “well-being”, or “inner well-being”. It should be noted here that the sudden transition to the post-covid era has upset the lifestyle habits of consumers and the societal moods that go with it. According to WGSN, the SS24 colors reflect a period of realignment, during which consumers will adapt to rapid changes in society and technology. Uncertainty will nevertheless remain a dominant force due to the ongoing economic, political and environmental crises.
Red indicates current difficulties
“Efficiency no longer dictates our world. The straight line is no longer supreme. If the route is still unknown, we know that it will seem winding. You often have to let the pencil wander for the drawing to take shape”, explain Louis Gérin & Grégory Lamaud, artistic directors of Texworld”.
This “winding path” is characterized by a dark red that foreshadows the “Future Dusk” of the year 2025. Uncertain and uneven tones, ambiguous pigmentations and twisted colors testify to this change of state. They “evoke disorder and transform doubt into creative force”, according to Première Vision.
Visually, this translates into a predominance of red – carmine, crimson, brick, violet, garnet, tile, dark, etc. Emotionally engaged, he confirms the importance of being pushed/stimulated. According to WGSN, red is directly related to the care economy. “Radiant Red” embodies the need to cultivate a more affectionate, caring and loving culture.
But red, of course, is also about passion, as Catherine Basquin, director of the Nelly Rodi textile workshop, points out: “Red is energy, warmth, the idea of having a collective fever, to move away from the conceptual to reconnect with primary instinct and authenticity.”.
Blue facilitates the transition to the future world
A dive into an ocean of freshness sums up quite well the breakthrough of the blues that we had clearly identified at the Première Vision show. in February 2023. It is a question here of renewing a color traditionally associated with the masculine gender to go towards a fluid tailor without gender, because the masculine/feminine cleavage is no longer really relevant (despite the galloping re-feminization of the feminine wardrobe
The different types of blue – indigo, Klein, denim, electric, French blue, azure, etc. – explore the need for stability and moderation, as consumers seek the right balance between work, leisure and the impact of digital on daily life. This quest is influenced by the impact of sport on the Spring/Summer 2024 lifestyle. Perhaps because of the 2024 Olympics?
This is what the trendsetters at Carlin Creative envision: “The 2024 Olympic Games, held in Paris, will be the voice of consumer expectations and brands will have to follow these values by offering an athletic lifestyle- chic.” An urban dive, therefore, associated with the desire for a culture of fair play based on inclusiveness, eco-responsibility and accessibility. “Sports culture provides access to better well-being for all.”
Blue, from indigo to sky blue, also indicates a need for distance, for space, in the face of current turbulence, and the feeling that one must constantly respond to immediacy and be on one’s guard when, paradoxically, everything takes longer. This is characterized, according to Nelly Rodi, by the rise of outdoor tourism and the need to be on the move.
Ultimately, this second breath induced by oceanic vapors translates the principle according to which “nothing dies, we just change form, utility, sometimes name. We must learn to see again. Let ourselves be carried away. Accept the new contours of world” (Texworld).
Green reflects a return to serenity
Here, the abundance of possibilities is the only rule: let go, let things happen and give power to the imagination. The green run, a bit like the ski slopes which are the easiest to approach, signifies our ability to adapt. Of course, this color can be linked to the green economy, a green capitalism (eco-designed products at source) that would make this world viable.
But be careful, in spring/summer 2024, it’s about going beyond the borders of greens inspired by the plant world – sage, lichen, olive, fir – to go towards powerful chromatic vibrations, luminous, intense and brilliant greens that reinforce the joy to meet again. to celebrate the shared values of respect and fairness.
WGSN calls it “a cyber lime, a near-neon that can stimulate and energize the body and mind.” It means a strong connection between nature and technology. It invites us to give more importance to nature, which is at the origin of new innovations in colors and organic materials.
An energetic green therefore, minty, lemony or yellowish (especially for denim fabrics) but also lime greens, to echo this ‘Everything Net’, where physical and digital realities are interchanged, mixing organic forms and synthetic realism.
This tangy aspect is tempered by the celadon and jade greens explored by Nelly Rodi. From precious stones to refined ceramics, these colors go hand in hand with lithotherapy, supposed to rebalance vital functions and contribute to the harmonization of body and mind, or with the science of Latin American healers. They recall “an ancestral magnificence which brings flamboyance back to modern society”. A chimera? Maybe, but we want to believe it, which is why this green attitude is probably supported by the fashion industry from top to bottom.
This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.FR. Translation and editing from French to English by Veerle Versteeg.