So sieht Nikeland aus: Ein virtueller Sneakerstore im Onlinegame Roblox.
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Nike
LISTICLE/10/31/2023
07

Major Trends: Future Fashion

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Do you want to know what trends will shape the future of fashion? We take a look at seven major future fashion trends. As a seismograph for social and technological change, fashion has always been a playground for innovations of all kinds. What are the fashion future trends for the next few years? ISPO.com presents the seven big trends.

Sustainability and digitization are the two major categories that will determine and change fashion trends in the future. No brand or retailer will be able to avoid them. Sustainability and digitization are anything but opposites. In fact, many sustainable developments can only be implemented through digital processes. These are the seven most important developments for the fashion of the future:

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01

Post-Covid fashion: Focus on Health and Well-Being

Health has not just been an important trend topic since Corona. For years, textile manufacturers and brands have been experimenting with health-promoting properties of clothing, for example through integrated nanocapsules that care for the skin and improve regeneration, or through intelligent threads that act as sensors, data conductors and power suppliers to generate heat over a wide area or measure moisture, pressure points and temperature.

The pandemic has also focused attention on antiviral properties. Manufacturers such as Polygiene from Sweden and HeiQ from Switzerland have developed special finishes for textiles that kill viruses and bacteria, thus providing active health protection. According to the Corona experience, they can help people feel safer.

In the home office, we have also learned that it is much more pleasant to be able to dress comfortably. Basically, fashion has been moving in an increasingly comfortable direction for decades. Sports and outdoor fashion is the main source of inspiration for this. The high acceptance of sneakers, stretch denim and men's jersey suits are all signs of this. People will not let these achievements be taken away from them again.

Mental health is also a typical health theme, which has received enormous tailwind due to the pandemic and is likely to boost the outdoor market in the long term. Being outdoors and experiencing nature is seen as a healing balance to the constant stress of our everyday lives. 

02

Rental Service and Second-Hand Fashion for a Lower Carbon Footprint as a Fashion Trend of the Future

Sustainability is the defining mega-trend in future fashion. But while a few years ago you could position yourself as a sustainable brand just by using organic cotton, today the consumer expects much more. It's about the carbon footprint of products and companies and achieving climate neutrality, which will soon also be required by law - or even better - climate positivity.

Instead of manufacturing or buying new products, more and more retailers, brands and consumers are turning to alternative consumption models. The second-hand market has been growing for years and is forecast to double to a total of 34 billion euros by 2025. More and more brands and retailers are investing in new resale business models and offering second-hand goods alongside their regular collections - from The North Face and Vaude to H&M and Zalando.

The same goes for rental services. In recent months, numerous retailers and brands have launched the new service. Whether it's luxury fashion, skiwear or outdoor equipment, the possibilities are many and Generation Z at the latest will be more interested in using products rather than owning them.

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03

Reducing Resource Consumption with a Circular Economy

There are already a number of brands that are seriously addressing the issue of the circular economy, for example "On" with its subscription sneaker Cyclon or the cooperation between Bergans of Norway and Spinnova. Most of these are lighthouse projects, and the number of functioning product cycles or even just recyclable products is still vanishingly small.

This is mainly because the entire value chain up to the disposal plant has to pull together here. It is not enough to use recycled materials in production; the finished product must also be recyclable at the end of its life. Either because mono-material was used or because the individual parts can be easily separated from each other. However, the more robust and durable the products are, the more difficult it is to achieve the latter. Biological cycles - i.e. composting - are also an option and are already being tested.

The outdoor sector in particular, with its preference for synthetic material compositions and coatings, still has many challenges to solve. It is clear that the industry is gearing up to develop new processes for recycling - also because this will soon be required by law. So this topic will keep us busy for quite a while.

04

Regenerative: Reduction of the CO2 Footprint

Organic is today, the future is regenerative. What this means, particularly in view of the climate targets, is that companies should not only strive to use sustainably produced raw materials, but increasingly also those that have been produced in a climate-positive way. They improve their own climate footprint. Since for apparel manufacturers their own products usually represent the largest item in their carbon footprint, it only makes sense to start here.

Using cotton as an example, this means only sourcing it from sources that use regenerative eco-agriculture methods that help pull carbon back into the soil.

Patagonia already uses regenerative cotton and promotes cotton farmers in the U.S. who have joined the project. The North Face is also moving in this direction.

05

Personalization: Specialists Are in Demand

Generalists are increasingly facing a credibility problem, because the days of "one fits all" are coming to an end. This by no means only means that the fit of clothing will be more closely oriented to "real" bodies in the future - for example, through body scanning technologies or personal avatars. The collections themselves will also be increasingly developed for and with precisely defined target groups and marketed in an equally targeted manner. In this context, the evolution of fashion ranges from gender-free collections to clothing brands that block cell phone radiation or offer menstrual underwear.

Li Edelkoort, an icon of fashion trend research, therefore also sees small brands in a good position that only offer one product category, but are absolute specialists there and achieve a high level of relevance and credibility. The fact that these collections are then produced on demand in the desired color represents the next stage of the fashion evolution. The digitization of the process chain from design through production to retail will make a significant contribution to aligning products more closely than before to customer wishes.

06

Digitized Fashion: From Digital Influencers to the Metaverse

With 3D technology, fashion is climbing to a new evolutionary level. More and more fashion companies are converting their product development to 3D. The technology has now reached the point where you can no longer tell the difference between a digitally generated product image and a photograph. This opens up completely new possibilities: Digital products can be marketed online and tried on via personalized avatars before they have even been produced. Fashion shows and fashion campaigns can also be realized with digital models such as Lil Miquela, a digital model in existence since 2016 with over three million followers on Instagram, or the Japanese digital influencer Imma.Gram.

Finally, the virtual world of the Metaverse opens up a completely new playground for digital fashion. Fashion brands can sell their products not only in the real world, but via NFTs in games like Roblox and Fortnite, because fashion plays an increasingly important role there, too. There have long been companies that only make digital fashion, and more and more classic fashion brands that are moving into the virtual world. Whether it's Nike with Nikeland or Balenciaga, Ralph Lauren, Off-White and Karl Lagerfeld, this is just the beginning.

In China hat sich Live-Shopping in den letzten Jahren zu einer festen Größe mit enormen Umsatzzahlen entwickelt.
Image credit:
Livebuy
07

Live Shopping: Digital Shopping Should Become an Event

Online shopping is growing, but it's honestly far from an experience. The solution: live shopping. In China, the trend is already a high-revenue mass phenomenon. There, 20 percent of online trade already takes place via live shopping, and the trend is rising. All this has only become established within the last five to six years.

Chinese live-shopping superstars like Viya and Austin Li Jiaqi sell billions of dollars worth of goods within a few hours on TaoBao. Live-streamed online sales are now finding more and more followers in non-Asian countries as well, preferably among younger generations. Live shopping is seen by many as the future of online retailing because it has the character of an event and enables a direct, human encounter between retailer and consumer.

Conclusion: The Fashion of Future

The market provides room for innovation and this influences the future fashion trend predictions. The clothing of the future is becoming more and more of a current trend and that makes people curious about new things. Predictions for future fashion trends only now seem fantastic and unreal. In fact, they are very close.

What Is Digital Fashion?

Digital fashion refers to the representation of clothing, which is produced with the help of computer technologies. Thus, it is possible to edit an image so that you can digitally put on your desired piece of clothing.

Fashion Trends 2022: Is the Fashion of Future Already Relevant?

There has been notable progress in the area of digital fashion and sustainable clothing. The focus is on convenience and innovation, and the range is also to be adapted for smaller or more specialized target groups.

How has the focus on health and well-being influenced fashion trends?

The focus on health and well-being has influenced fashion trends by encouraging the development of clothing with health-promoting properties. This includes clothing with integrated nanocapsules for skin care and intelligent threads that can regulate temperature, moisture, and more. Additionally, there is an emphasis on comfort and outdoor-inspired fashion, aligning with the idea that being outdoors and experiencing nature contributes to mental well-being.

What is the role of sustainability in future fashion trends?

Sustainability is a defining mega-trend in future fashion. It goes beyond using organic materials and now encompasses reducing carbon footprints, achieving climate neutrality, and adopting circular economy models. Sustainability is not just a choice but increasingly an expectation from consumers.

How is digitization impacting the fashion industry?

Digitization is impacting the fashion industry in various ways. It includes the use of 3D technology for product development, the creation of digital fashion models and influencers, and the exploration of virtual fashion in the metaverse. Digitization allows for more personalized and interactive experiences in the fashion world.

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