Keeping up on fashion trends can sometimes be a little like following the latest craze in pop music. One minute everyone is into 15 year-old girls acting 10 years older than they are while pretending they don’t sing into voice-correcting computers, and the next it’s all about 15 year-old boys writing the sappiest love songs possible while openly using a voice-correcting computer for “artistic” effect.
OK, maybe fashion isn’t as maddeningly contradictory and absurd as pop music, but it can still be a little confusing. Fitted clothes are in, but so are baggy ones. Camouflage and military detailing are in, but so are jewel tones and tie-dye patterns. Fashion-forward corporate apparel is becoming more popular, yet so are classic, ’50s throwback styles. Combine all this contradiction with the fact that the promotional industry tends to follow trends and styles a little out-of-step with those in retail, and settling on the right designs for an apparel promotion can be daunting.
To help follow the threads of what is and isn’t popular, Promo Marketing spoke with several supplier experts in the apparel field, their answers broken down in the following categories.
COLOR
Color is trending in a couple different directions for 2011. Margaret Crow, marketing director for S&S Activewear, Bolingbrook, Ill., pointed out that certain military-inspired neutral hues, like olive green, sand and camel, are growing in popularity. She also noted a few other trending colors that are useful as complements to the neutrals. “Other colors that are big right now, and will be through 2011, are complements to the overall military neutrals: bold touches of red and bold jewel tones such as purple and teal.”
Lauren Cocco, merchandiser for Vantage Apparel, Avenel, N.J., agreed with the coming popularity of jewel tones, stating that Vantage Apparel added orange, deep maroon and purple hues for fall 2010 products. She also pointed to fashion blues and greens as being important for the warmer seasons of 2011, and seconded the value of neutrals as well. “Neutrals such as tans and grays will continue to be important and carry us into the fall season,” she said. “Also look for heathered shades and washed-down vintage colors.”
NECKLINES AND FITS
“Next year you’ll see more V-neck styles, particularly for unisex T-shirts,” said Janine Toner, marketing coordinator for Broder Bros., Trevose, Pa. “For ladies’ apparel, expect more tunics, longer length T-shirts and tanks.” She also pointed out, somewhat contradictorally, that tighter fits will also be in. “Fashion-fit basics will also be big for 2011 since more mills will be offering 4.5 oz. styles that typically have slimmer fits,” she said.
Crow explained this contradiction by pointing to retail. “You’ll notice in the retail marketplace, fashion is contradictory right now,” she said. “Boots of every length; fitted clothes and baggy clothes; patterns and neutrals; pointed toe shoes and square toe shoes—they’re all in style,” she said.
FABRICATION
Lighter weight seems to be the way to go for 2011. Greg Brown, vice president of marketing and promotional products for Delta Apparel, Duluth, Ga., explained that lighter fabrics in the 3-to-4 oz. range are gaining ground because of their softer hand and different look they offer. “This provides for different printing techniques and offers another product to the younger market,” he said.
Aside from overall fabric weight, Toner expanded on some of the other changes coming to fabrication styles in 2011. “It’s not all about the 100 percents or 50/50s in 2011,” she said. “Distributors will see more tri-blend T-shirts and fleece. The cotton/polyester/rayon blend will be among the most popular tri-blend fabrications next year.”
She also pointed to the continued growth of distressed styles. “This includes burnout, pigment-dyed, washed and sheer fabrics, which are usually found in T-shirts, tanks and hooded styles,” she said. “These fabrics are popular in both the retail and imprintable apparel industries. They appeal to customers because they feel super-soft yet still have a vintage look to them.”
ATHLETIC APPAREL
Florence Wong, marketing associate for Tonix, Fremont, Calif., noted the popularity of matching female and male athletic apparel, specifically in the area of sports uniforms. She explained that schools and corporations favor this kind of matching because of the sense of aesthetic harmony and overall unity it creates. “This crafts a look that is cohesive, consistent and unified that customers really respond to,” she said. To keep up with the demand of matching women’s styles, Wong stated that Tonix is introducing more ladies’ companion pieces to match their male counterparts.
She also noted that the lighter fabrication trends are showing up in the athletic markets, provided the fabrics still preform well in athletic settings. “Light fabrications that are both soft and efficient are also in high demand,” she said.
JACKETS/OUTERWEAR
The popularity of military-inspired styles is still very much driving outerwear designs. “Military-inspired apparel is still the rage right now,” said Crow. “The military trend is translated in this industry to outerwear with lots of pockets and details,” she added. Jennifer Chiu, product manager for Ash City USA, Lenexa, Kan., explained that athletic and urban styles, two apparel genres that are also very detailing-heavy, will play a large role in apparel designs for 2011, leading to a lot of diversity in outwear styles.
DECORATION AND PATTERNS
If you decide to work with trendier, ligher fabrics, you may want to consider using less ink. “Logos printed with less ink lay down, and without an underlay, complement the growing lightweight fabric market,” said Cocco. “Utilizing less inks results in cleaner, smoother prints over front zippers and seams.”
To work with the popularity of the distressed look, consider lettering appliqués. “Lettering appliqués add dimension and interest to a logo design,” explained Cocco. “Natural fabrics like cotton rib or twill will curl and distress when applied with a running stitch tack down.”
As for patterns, popular designs like camouflage and plaid may be worth working into your apparel as well. “You can take advantage of an existing print, and then have the team, corporate, school or event message printed over the pattern,” said Crow. She suggested that this not only creates a nice look, but is also a good way to make the item appear more expensive than it actually is.
RETRO
The popularity of retro styles continues to grow. In retail fashion, you can see this trend stretching across several decades, from classic ’50s suitcuts to the bright and goofier tee imprints from the ’80s and ’90s. The promotional industry might be showing the retro trends a little differently, but the influence is still there. “We’re seeing an increase in popularity of teamwear, especially raglan T-shirts that are reminiscent of the late ’70s,” said Toner. “The oversized shirts that were typically worn with leggings in the ’80s are also making a comeback,” she explained, adding that wide-neck fleece, similar to the famous sweatshirt that Jennifer Beals wore in the move Flashdance, will be another ’80s trend to watch for next year.
CORPORATE
For ladies’ wovens, V-neck tops are slated to become very popular in 2011, according to Taraynn Llyod, marketing director for Edwards Garment, Kalamazoo, Mich. “Open or V-necklines seem to be a fashion seen everywhere,” she said. Llyod state that to keep up with anticipated demand, Edwards Garment is adding four new ladies’ styles, featuring tailored open necks as well as several fitting details like back-darts and contouring side seams to make them a better fit for women.
