Fall is fast approaching and while I’m desperately clinging to the last bits of summer, I know that I can’t live in my little summer forever bubble forever as soon there will be no leaves left on the trees and warmth in the sun. But as the seasons change so do our wardrobes and the colour stories. Each year for fall we see a variation on the same concepts: jewel tones, darker colours, warm neutrals etc. But exactly what shades to look out for and what shades you own that will be similar. This is when trend forecasting comes into play.
This season we are seeing a deviation from the past few seasons of jewel tones, with dusty pastels and greys in jewel tones stead. I’m super excited as this means my sage green obsession can live to fight through another season. Perhaps in a slightly muted tone on the runway, but my favourite dress can be repurposed for early fall and I can possibly now justify the long sleeved version for the winter! Happy days! We’ll also see out spring/summer pastels stick around a little bit longer, just in different fabrics and cuts than we are used to seeing. Monochromatic pastel looks mixing tailored trousers and soft knitwear graced the runways and soon to take over our wardrobes as our spring knits gets a second life through the fall. In particular, the mid-tone denim blue that was oh-so popular in the spring and dusty sages will be centre pieces for the pastel wardrobe.
You’ll also see lots of grey for the upcoming A/W season, with monochromatic looks and grey tailoring as the centrepiece. A softer statement than black tailoring, grey will pair nicely with your dusty pastels and off-whites for a more muted colour palette.
We are also seeing a return to more natural colours stemming from unbleached fibres and/or eco-conscious dyes with autumnal hues, olive greens and off-whites gaining traction. Sustainability no longer applies to the clothing alone, it’s extended into the dyes, the materials and the processing. Unbleached fibres and naturally derived dye is the move forward (and backwards) into autumn 2020. The move away from the heavily processed materials will be a sigh of relief for those like myself that prefer to live in a neutrals and natural tones of camel, beige, olive green etc.
For those warm tone lovers, we’ll see lots of rich browns and deep eggplant intermingled throughout. Mid- tone Neutrals in the camel family (like always) will be a core staple for foundational pieces. Autumnal Hues come through each and every year, which means you likely have a lot already in your closet. This year we are seeing a lot more monochromatic warm toned leather on leather looks, as well as beautiful red-brown knit wear.
If you love a pop of colour, don’t worry as bright red is here for the season (and not just for Christmas parties). This seasons red has been updated from our typical berry/oxblood shade range to a brighter blue based red WGSN has coined “Velvet Cake”. In my research, I’ve found less full red monochromatic outfits as we’ve seen in previous years with red on red suiting or colour blocking in shades of red. This year is more focused on using a pop of red to accentuate your autumnal hues.
