What will be the SS24 material trends according to Première Vision?

Back in February, the international materials sourcing show, Première Vision 2023, revealed to professionals the first major trends in spring/summer 2024 fashion, through three themes: Decoration, Essentials and Leather. FashionUnited reported on the event.

The Decoration Forum: the influence of plants on spring/summer 2024 fabrics

’Naturality’, the character of what is in the state of nature, is the word most used by the materials experts FashionUnited met at Première Vision February 2023. A warm welcome, then, to a spring/summer 2024 season that gives pride of place to natural materials (linen, silk, cold wool, etcetera). But as there would be no fashion without the intervention of human fantasy, this "naturalness" is translated by textures with flamed thread effects, canvassing on jacquards or other references to artisanal know-how. This botanical strength is also expressed in the patterns. If the summer season is very often rustic or rural, the plant expression of summer 2024 revolves around foliage and sometimes even trees.

But ‘naturalness’ also means ‘earthiness', or the influence of the earth on societal customs. In terms of weaves and prints, this results in effects such as the earth's crust, seismic waves, bark... Even for outdoor use, high-performance fabrics are dressed in mineral fantasies and volcanic textures. What about animal motifs in the jungle of the fashion world? For spring/summer 2024, “the amount of animal motifs is lower when you compare it to other seasons," Ariane Bigot, assistant fashion director at Première Vision, said. But what is interesting in the representation of zebra, panther or snake skins is the emergence of shifted colours or enlarged motifs.

"In the overall offer, we were struck by the disproportionate proportion of designs, with scales equivalent to those usually used in furniture.” According to the expert, the influence of the home sweet home in certain designs can be linked to "the desire to capture other people's attention on social networking sites”. The bigger the image, the more visible you are. A classic flower, if you change the scale or generate a unique placement in the cut of the garment, makes you stand out.

An edition of Première Vision with the theme of the Garden of Eden in a digital dream

The current trend in digital aesthetics is influencing the visuals of the designs in terms of colour, brilliance and undulations. The codes are evolving towards even more pastelised, vibrant colours, with contemporary pearlescence and unreal undulations. Vectorised foliage and flowers take flight towards new imaginary worlds. More or less enlarged, these motifs are juxtaposed in a random way. Emerging from a generally metallic preciousness (gold, copper, silver), lace and embroidery jacquards are covered with coloured, iridescent and transparent shimmer.

Spring Summer 2024: genderfluid tailoring in soft tones

This trend towards naturalness is reflected in a range of natural, light, neutral and even slightly lacklustre tones... This is clearly the first impression that Forum Essentials gives. This colour chart corresponds to the classic offer dedicated to dresses, trousers, jackets. However, in parallel, one can observe a touch of freshness and vitality with slightly acidic, luminous colours and even pastels with character. “Beige has taken over from grey, and we see a little less black," Ariane Bigot explained. "But the surprise comes from the draperies, in real flowing wool, mauves, pale pinks... Since I've been working at Première Vision, I've never had the opportunity to exhibit fifteen beautiful classic draperies in such a colourful array of softness."

This trend corresponds to the emergence of a genderless fluid tailoring, which was previously identified during last season's menswear shows. It is accompanied by a revival of blue, a colour traditionally associated with the male gender, symbolised by the banker's shirt or the sailor's suit. Blue is becoming a real chromatic power: Klein blue, turquoise, sky blue, royal blue... . “For several seasons now, classic blues have been challenged by browns and khakis," the expert said.

Lace, a newcomer at the Essentials Forum

This new sophistication goes hand in hand with the arrival of lace at the Essentials Forum. "Our visitors come to Vision for their ready-to-wear or couture, but they also have specific needs related to the lingerie present in their collections," Bigot explained. “We therefore wanted to highlight lace, which is an oddity, but is in line with the forum section dedicated to sports, swimwear and lingerie.”

Wild feline and opulent seduction; a new field is opening up for a sector that has experienced confinement in pyjama mode and now wishes to drape itself in more seduction and sophistication with fluid, flowing, spinning knits, cosy cotton fleeces on the inside, soft and supple on the outside, or even more subtle ornamentations, interfering between the worlds of swimsuits and lingerie.

A shift is taking place: the notion of comfort is now accompanied by chic and seduction. Poplins and satins are moulded into weaved, complicated structures that break their flatness. The vegetal flames of linen or hemp make the plains vibrate. In this quest for added value, the iconic structures of silk are adorned with horizontal stripes in ottoman or fault.

Forum leather: the return to grace of leather after greenbashing

This notion of naturalness obviously legitimises the use of leather, in the face of synthetic alternatives. “Visitors ask the tanners a lot of questions about traceability, sustainability, animal welfare, but no longer question the material as such,” noted Carine Montarras, leather product manager at Première Vision. “Not only has there been no slowdown in the development of leather accessories (shoes and leather goods), but there has been demand for leather clothing, both in winter and in summer.”

It must be said that the leather industry has refined its methods: metal-free tanning thanks to vegetable tanning agents from mimosas, chestnut trees or quebrachos (trees native to Latin America); nubuck and embossed leather made from biosourced polymers derived from hemp oil; tumbled skins dyed naturally thanks to waste from wine…

The art of playing with contrasts

“The most obvious thing is the dichotomy that there can be in fashion trends, which surprises (again and again),” said the expert. “There is a huge inspiration towards more naturalness with products that leave the texture of the skin visible, diffuse colours that will acquire a patina to enhance the living side of the material. On the other hand, there is this digital light that we find in nail art or in the polychrome painting of cars.”

Exit the classic smooth or even tense varnish and instead welcome varnishes with a wet, translucent and acidulous aspect, to create softly coloured and blurred contrasts, artificial pastel colours impregnated with milky whites, lacquer effects in transparency, glazed leathers, micro-glittery and changing reflections, hologram style…

The leathers are enriched with extremely precise finishings, such as a skin, exhibited at the entrance to Forum Leather, embroidered with a leopard's head and sequins. Conversely, this famous "naturalness" gives way to natural grained leathers, dyed fuller, without pigmented finish to better reveal the textures. Here, the colour is full and absorbing. It ranges from indigo to terracotta via violet or the famous Klein blue - named after the painter Yves Klein who makes it the emblem of a quest for immateriality and infinity - which could turn out to be the queen colour of the spring summer 2024 season.

This article was originally published on FashionUnited.FR. Translation and editing from French into English: Veerle Versteeg.