#BizTrends2017: Seven runway trends for S/S 17

Main directions:

• A casual sports-inspired theme pervades the season
  
• Softly cut minimalist lines explore relaxed silhouettes
  
• Historical references are fused with contemporary silhouettes, with a focus on rounded and puffed sleeves, along with ruched and ruffled details
  
• Emphasis is placed on pure structure, with a light and modern aesthetic

For Colour, Pink and cosmetic tones remain important, reinvented season after season to become a mainstay in the women’s market as both a core and a fashion palette. Rose sand and coral pink drive newness for this colour level, punctuated by brights such as pacific blue and yellow.

Earthy and organic tones update green and orange hues, providing a commercially viable alternative to previous seasons' zesty and bright shades.

Stripes and florals continue to drive print and pattern, with chintzy blooms sitting alongside dark-based florals, classic humble stripes and more vibrant variegated stripe mixes. Digital hot tropical prints will feel fresh for high summer, offering something new to typical Hawaiian and hibiscus flower prints while providing a straightforward sell for final deliveries.

Key trends

1. Midnight Glam

More-is-more and this 1980s-inspired look runs riot with silhouettes exaggerated across shoulders and accentuated by a focus on proportion play. Spandex leggings are a leitmotif to the look along with micro mini-dresses in liquid devoré dramatically cut to reveal a daring flash of skin. Animal prints are worn head to toe or in slinky revealing blouses.

2. Modern Leisure

Designers fuse sportswear-influenced references with contemporary design elements, creating a futuristic and abstract appeal with an easy-to-wear attitude. Sheer and light materials are cut in generous proportions and worn over a slim silhouette. Bold colours add a graphic edge, while drawstrings and zippers underpin the sporty vibe.

3. Future Past

In this trend, designers look to the past to create the future. Historical references lay the groundwork for this beautiful and romantic theme with collections incorporating elements of boudoir dressing in full-length dresses cut in lightweight silky chiffons and sheer lace. Tudor details with a focus on sleeves and ruffles are overtly feminine.

4. Beachcomber

A gentle yet urban theme combined with an eclectic sensibility to introduce a relaxed mode of dressing. Softened, fluid layers via natural fibres of linen, silk and cotton sun-kissed in weather-worn hues nonchalantly wrap and drape sensuously in silhouettes. The theme is centred on a modern feminine traveller on a worldly adventure.

5. Riviera Sunset

In a fusion of dramatic and bold colour, a vibrancy and romance flows from tropical-inspired environs to the Côte d'Azur. Silhouettes are bathed in fluid light materials that lend perfectly to cocktail hour. Shoulders are provocatively exposed with sophisticated asymmetric cuts and framed with deep silk flounces

6. Purity

The minimalist trend evolves in pared-back shapes with an emphasis on structure. A modern aesthetic along with a quiet and sensual mood is created through the use of delicate white and pale hues in light materials, providing the platform for a sleek, sophisticated look in softly manipulated forms.

7. The Futurist

A new creativity with a retro-futuristic undertone emerges for the modern woman. Structured silhouettes and exaggerated volume accentuate the shoulders and place renewed focus on the waist and hips. Tailoring, cut-outs and asymmetry emphasise a strong female form and provide newness.

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