Dark red, ocean blue and a revitalizing green are the three key colors of men’s fashion in spring/summer 2024. The color spectrum was determined by the trend research institutes Carlin Creative, WGSN and Nelly Rodi for the coming summer season. These visions coincide with the forecasts of the international textile fairs Première Vision and Texworld.
With the Men’s Fashion Weeks in London, Milan and Paris approaching, the search for “wellness” seems to be the guiding principle. The sudden change in the post-Covid era has changed consumer lifestyles and the associated societal moods. According to WGSN, the Spring/Summer 2024 colors reflect a time of realignment as consumers adapt to rapid societal and technological changes. However, uncertainty will remain a dominant force due to ongoing economic, political and environmental crises.
Red thread indicates difficulties
“Efficiency no longer rules our world. Straightforwardness is no longer ruler of the situation. “Even though the path is unknown, we know it will seem crooked,” said Louis Gérin and Grégory Lamaud, Artistic Directors of Texworld. “Sometimes you have to keep the pencil running to sketch a design.”
This “winding path” is characterized by a dark red that anticipates “Future Dusk”, the color of the year 2025. Uncertain and broken tones, ambiguous pigmentations and mixed colors bear witness to this change of state. They “conjure up unrest and elevate doubt to a creative catalyst,” according to the Première Vision.
Visually, this is reflected in the dominance of red: carmine red, brick red, purple red, garnet red, oxide red, ruby red and signal red. They are all emotionally engaging and reinforce the importance of being shaken up. According to WGSN, the color red is directly related to the economics of (self)care. “Radiant Red” embodies the need to nurture a more loving, caring, and loving culture.
But red represents natural and also passion, as Catherine Basquin, director of the textile studio Nelly Rodi, points out: “Red represents energy, burning, the idea of rediscovering a collective fever, moving away from the conceptual, to come back full of primal instinct and authenticity to come to life”.
Blue tones are intended to ease the transition to the world after
A dive in an ocean of freshness sums up quite well the breakthrough in blue tones that we clearly saw at the Première Vision in February 2023. This is about re-associating a color traditionally associated with the masculine gender to move towards cross-gender tailoring. The separation between male and female is currently not a trend, even if the women’s wardrobe seems to be experiencing a ‘re-feminization’ at the moment.
The different types of blue—indigo, Yves Klein blue, denim blue, cobalt blue, royal blue, azure—explore the need for stability and moderation. People are looking for the right balance between work and free time, especially as digitization enters their daily lives. This quest cannot ignore the influence of sport on the way of life, especially with the 2024 Olympics coming up.
At least, that’s what Carlin Creative’s trend forecast suggests: “The Paris 2024 Olympics will express consumer expectations, and brands need to follow those values by offering an athletic-chic lifestyle.” An urban one deep dive So, combined with the desire for one fair play culturethat is based on inclusion, environmental responsibility and accessibility. “Sports culture enables this access to better well-being for all”.
Blue, from indigo to sky blue, also suggests a need for horizon, space, and distance from the current turmoil. It also applies to the feeling that we have to constantly react to immediacy, to stay on the ball, while paradoxically everything takes more time. According to Nelly Rodi, this is characterized by the boom in outdoor sports, outdoor tourism and the need to be on the move.
Finally, according to Texworld, this second current, reminiscent of the oceans, reflects the principle that “nothing dies, it only changes its form, its utility and sometimes its name. You have to learn to see again. to be carried. To accept the new contours of the world”.
Green light for more serenity
Here, the abundance of possibilities is the only rule: space for letting go, letting things happen and the imagination. A green slope, like the ski slopes that are the easiest to ski, signifies our ability to adapt. Of course, this color can be associated with the green economy, a green capitalism (ecologically thought-out products at the source), which would make this world a better place for everyone to live in.
But be careful, for the Spring/Summer 2024 season it’s all about pushing the boundaries of plant-inspired shades of green – sage, moss, olive, fir. Instead, fashion turns to the powerful hues, bright, intense and radiant colors that express the joy of gathering together to celebrate shared values such as respect and fairness.
WGSN speaks of “Cyber Lime, a penetrating quasi-neon capable of stimulating and energizing the body and mind”. The shade expresses a strong connection between nature and technology. He calls for giving more importance to nature, which generates new innovations in colors and biological materials.
A strong green, then, minty, lemony or yellowish (especially in denim and linen), but also lime green, echoing this “everything net” in which physical and digital realities are interchangeable and organic shapes are mixed with synthetic realism.
This acidic aspect is expressed through celadon or jade green, as Nelly Rodi explains. From precious stones to refined ceramics, these shades go hand in hand with homeopathic lithotherapy, said to rebalance vital functions and help harmonize body and mind, or with the knowledge of Latin American healers. They evoke “an ancient splendor that brings back splendor to our modern society”. A pipe dream? Maybe, but you want to believe in it, hence this green attitude likely to be shared by fashion industry players from start to finish.
This article was published on FashionUnited.fr. Translation and editing: Barbara Russ