We purchase our collection ourselves. We select each label personally and only the items that appeal to us the most. That is quite a puzzle, we can tell you. Lidewij Edelkoort is one of our rocks in the surf. She is a world-leading predictor and researcher of new trends. What she can do incredibly well is to interpret the spirit of the times and translate that into fashion and trends. She looks at the economy, nature, politics, travels all over the world, picks up signals and creates connections from them. She does that very inspiringly. Her trend predictions are followed from New York to Milan and from London to Tokyo.
Who is Lidewij Edelkoort?
Lidewij Edelkoort is one of the world’s most famous trend forecasters. As an intuitive thinker who travels the world studying the evolution of socio-cultural trends before sharing this information with her clients in industries as diverse as fashion, textiles, interiors, cars, cosmetics, retail and food. Under her Paris-based company Trend Union, Edelkoort creates trend books two or more years ahead that are tools used by strategists, designers and marketeers at international brands.
Lidewij's predictions are about one and a half years ahead. In November 2017 she did her forecast for spring summer 2019 and we were at her half-yearly seminar in Amsterdam.
Female power
As far as Lidewij is concerned, there is one word that describes the coming fashion season: godesses. We think that's a cool theme. The role of women is shifting. Just look at the fact that more women than men are studying, salaries are increasingly shifting towards each other, # metoo ...
Instead of looking for their prince charming (which, according to Lidewij, no longer exists), women take responsibility themselves. They join forces and fight together against the last remnant of injustice and prejudice in society. With each other, instead of against each other.
Women need to prove themselves less and less, and this creates room for research. Who are you as a woman, who are your inner goddesses? We follow the standard standards less and less. If you give yourself the space as a woman, you also make room for other women to do the same. We find a nice insight.
Back to antiquity
Whereas in recent years designers have mainly been inspired by earlier decades, they now go much further back. We embrace ancient wisdom and beauty. You can see that in Indian elements. But the Greek goddesses are also important. Many labels have long flowing dresses, tunics and skirts in their collection that allow freedom of movement instead of restricting it. Traditional craftsmanship is really part of that, both in design and in execution. We are very happy with the special designs, the beautiful embroidery and the luxurious and elegantly made fabrics that we encountered everywhere.
Nature spirits
If you look even further back to the source, you will arrive at Mother Earth with her round, ripe shapes and warm colors. This includes natural fabrics such as cotton, linen and soft suede. We also see nature in beautifully elaborated safari themes with leopard and snake prints, camels and desert colors.
Peace and cheerfulness
White and transparent are also characteristic of this spring and summer. It stands for peace and innocence, as a counter-movement to extremism and the aggressive policy of, for example, Trump and Putin. We do not want that gravity, there is a need for some cheerfulness and positivity. You can see that in the bright colors that many labels show up in their collections.
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