ISPO Textrends: Colors remain in flux
Colors are more than just pigments on fabrics - they influence emotions, purchasing decisions and self-confidence. Louisa Smith looks ahead to the fall/winter 2025/25 season for ISPO Textrends and dares to make a prediction about the upcoming core and satellite color palette. Which shade inspires you?
Louisa Smith is a globally recognized textile and fashion expert. Her innovative spirit and expertise make her a sought-after opinion leader in the textile industry - also in the sports and outdoor sector. She is a leading jury member for ISPO Textrends Awards and presents them once a year at ISPO Munich. Louisa also supports the ISPO Award team with a sustainability check and checks the sustainability information of relevant products - for more transparency and real change in the sports world.
Interacting with color can enhance the mood of the wearer, the purchase decision, and even gaining that final injection of confidence to get you over the finishing line. The psychological aspect of color can lift or placate a mood, depending on how it is used. But, we have to take into account, especially on an efficiency and cost perspective, and also knowing what you consumer preference is, sometimes it isn’t a case of switching color placement, but manipulating what you already have.
Each season ISPO Textrends develops a core color palette complemented by four satellite color palettes. The Core palette is a reminiscent of many core palettes that brands run seasonally, sometimes embracing a seasonal tweak, but this is where you will find the black, gray, neutral, and primary tones that we work as a key.
Hues from the satellite tones vary and can be worked independently, co-creatively with tones from the Core, or even clashing with each other. The colors generated each season come from research on defining the textile trends, embracing new technologies and ingredients, and researching consumer attitudes and socio-economic situations through music, culture, and the arts.
While color plays a role season after season, the ISPO Textrends is just a shared experience of color concepts that we have developed. We aren't here to write the rules on color trends or the top color for the season; on the contrary, we want to break the rules. By sharing this color development, we hope it allies or conflicts with what you, as a brand, are already considering.
The structure of the Core, with the four satellite palettes, allows us to interact. Let's get independently creative, different, and unique, which will set you apart from the competition.
The amount of color combinations in the information provided is endless. Play around; consider trims and accents, clashing tones, and off-scale prints. It's time to be expressive.
With the global population surpassing 8 billion, this season's Core reflects the need for a paired-down and easily workable Core palette. We continue to have our primary tones complementing neutrals, but this stems from the need to create palettes that are palatable to multiple markets.
Within the core palette are multiple combinations of colorways for all sectors of the industry and geographical markets. With this in mind, for material suppliers, this is also an essential solution for stock fabrics, utilizing core colors and specialized yarn manufacturers to have a dope dyed range of Core colors, all part of a quick response, reducing waste and water in keeping the sustainable solutions.
What is important to note on the color front is the changes in chemistry, as dyestuffs shed toxicity, moving through to the introduction of natural ingredient pigments and dyes that offer a new muted direction.
As always, the Core color palette and coordinating satellite palettes are interactive ideas. We aren't here to dictate your creativity, to inspire and share, but the ball is in your court on how you proceed for your customers.
We look forward to the new and updated color combinations in next winter's collections at ISPO Munich 2024.