Imagination will be the new luxury, says trend expert on AW26/27

The fashion industry likes to think ahead. Designers are already mulling collections for next year. Buyers are determining shop offerings for the next season. Fashion magazines are shooting winter stories in the summer. This is how it has always been. Yet, when it comes to the future of the industry as a whole, thinking ahead has become more sombre. What will the industry look like after artificial intelligence, climate change and geopolitical tensions in Europe?

Trend forecaster Jan Agelink of creative agency Buro Jantrendman offers a reassuring perspective. He begins his webinar 'Design Fiction' for AW26/27 with a photo of a small ceramic artwork by the Dutch artist Koos Buster, titled 'The Button for World Peace'. The viewer of this button gets the idea that world peace can be achieved with one press of a button. It appeals to the imagination. Agelink calls this imaginative intelligence, the ability to come up with new ideas for existing problems (however big the problems are). He expects that imagination will become increasingly important for the creative industry.

Imaginative intelligence: imagination as a driver of innovation

Agelink mentions Belgian designer Walter Van Beirendonck as an example of someone with a strong imagination. Van Beirendonck's AW25 show in Paris included 3D-printed alien-like finger accessories and prints made using artificial intelligence (AI). In his show notes, Van Beirendonck states that every collection promises novelty but in reality presents repetitions of the past.

Last year, the designer also criticised the scarcity of novelty in fashion. “Why are garments still being sewn when we have the potential to explore so many other techniques?”

Swedish fashion designer Ellen Hodakova Larsson also comes up with new ideas and designs that appeal to the imagination. With her label Hodakova, she transforms existing materials and shapes (such as the wood of a violin from which a dress was made) into new fashion. In September 2024, she won the prestigious LVMH Prize consisting of 400,000 euros and a year of coaching from the French luxury group. “It shows that even a luxury group of this size believes in the power of fashion that surprises, is unpredictable and evokes emotional reactions,” says Agelink.

A name to watch is Satoshi Kondo, creative director of the Japanese fashion house Issey Miyake since 2019. In a time when many trends are recurring, Kondo manages to surprise with designs in which form and function come together in an innovative way. During the AW25 show in Paris, models wore the clothes in unexpected ways, making it clear that a garment does not have to be worn in just one way.

Bold new classics

Agelink also foresees the importance of bold new classics for AW26/27: classic cuts and prints that once again appeal to the imagination. An example of this can be seen in the acclaimed AW25 collection by Duran Lantink, presented in Paris. The Dutch designer, recently appointed as head designer at Jean Paul Gaultier, gave classic design elements new meaning by placing them in a contemporary context. He incorporated prints as old as mankind into a surprisingly new guise. He also reinterpreted the corset (usually associated with the female silhouette) as a male torso presented on a woman.

Rise of the 'kidult'

Agelink identifies a striking phenomenon at the top of the fashion industry: the rise of the 'kidult', a contraction of 'kid' and 'adult'. This is an adult who longs for childlike wonder. Agelink gives the AW25 show of Courrèges in Paris as an example. Here, models walked over confetti. An unexpected effect of something that appeals to the imagination of the kidult.

Community-focused retail activities

Consumers are increasingly buying online. Moreover, the traditional retailer seems to be sidelined now that tech giants are doing everything they can to keep consumers on their webshops. They are investing in technology that can make personalised recommendations at lightning speed. Yet, there is a paradox in these technological developments. The more personal technology becomes, the more impersonal the fashion industry seems to become. The hypermodern consumer can buy clothes without ever coming into contact with a human being. This is despite the fact that a garment actually passes through many hands before it reaches the consumer.

Agelink predicts the trend of community-focused retail activities for AW26/27 as a counter-reaction to automated interactions. “The consumer wants to be taken along in the storytelling of the product, the brand, the shop or the company,” says Agelink. Brands such as the Dutch Bonne Suits and the Belgian Suspicious Antwerp give this a contemporary interpretation. They regularly organise physical events. In this way, they create an experience, strengthen their community and ensure loyalty.

New city life: need for sensory stillness

But the city dweller does not want to be overstimulated. According to Agelink, they are already experiencing the downside of an increasingly digital existence: less human interaction, little sleep, less greenery and nature. “In some cities, there are not even any butterflies left,” Agelink laments. He sees a clear reaction to this existence: the growing importance of clothing to sleep in (for example, on the go). He mentions the work of Gozzilah and Post Archive Faction (PAF) as examples of brands that respond to the consumer need for sensory stillness.

One of the striking trends he identifies are coats with extremely large hoods, meant to be pulled over the eyes as a kind of mobile cocoon – as seen in the AW25 collection by Issey Miyake. Agelink predicts that a specific shade of yellow – “the colour of the sunset” – will become popular. This shade can be seen in the AW25 collections of Maxivive and Henrik Vibskov, among others. He also points to more nature-inspired colours, including purple, green, yellow, red and brown.

Stimulate the brain

In his webinar Design Fiction, Agelink emphasises that especially now, in a time when AI seems to be accelerating and trends seem to be repeating themselves, imagination is essential. “Stimulate the brain, and the hand will reach for the wallet,” Harry Selfridge, the founder of London department store Selfridges, once said. His statement proves to be more relevant than ever.