What do King Charles, Pharrell Williams and the Ukrainian military have in common?
They’re each influencing the direction of denim fashion, according to Tilmann Wröbel, creative director of Monsieur-T and the trend curator for the Munich-based trade show, Bluezone.
On Tuesday, Wröbel shared how drivers from pop culture and politics to sport and social media are inspiring a flurry of new denim looks and reinvented ideas. He focused his denim forecast on “trend spots” versus in-depth themes that evolve and linger over seasons or even years to address the speed at which fashion changes directions. Some of the micro trends are extremely relevant, and others already need an update, he added.
Old money
Old money, also known as quiet luxury, is a direct reaction to the fashion industry’s extreme and unwearable trends like Balenciaga’s and Diesel’s pant boots and extremely oversized jeans and hoodies from Vetements.
“This is the counter movement against sneakers with a huge designer name on it,” Wröbel said, adding that it’s a “necessary move” to a calmer aesthetic that references dandy, prep and aristocratic fashion. “Old money means inherited wealth, nothing earned. So, it’s got something very snobby to it,” he added.
Guided by “prestige, quality and material,” old money denim requires exceptional fabrics, patternmaking, and tailoring. Jeans are timeless in silhouette and wash. The theme also translates to denim suiting, shirting and shirt dresses. Though old money garments may look simple, they’re tailored to perfection and finished with elevated trims.
“In the 1980s we had jeans which were super tailored in the waist area for [women]. We totally forgot about that. But it’s something we could easily reinvent,” Wröbel said.
Low riders
Recent runway shows show a shift to extremely low rises for men. “Mowalola was really the brand which showed a new dimension of super low rises, but there’s also a more traditional brand like Vivienne Westwood,” Wröbel said.
The rest of the denim industry appears to be sleeping on the trend, however. Wröbel said it seems like denim brands are trying to focus on other stories—perhaps ones with more immediate commercial results—than the most obvious one in front of them.
“Low-rise jeans for women and low-rise jeans for men are just something you have to address and take to a new level,” he said.
Generational baggies
Like low rises, designers are missing the mark when it comes to designing baggy jeans.
“They extremely overdesigned,” Wröbel said of the versions currently in the market. “A proper baggy that appeals to Gen Z must have something very normcore to it. It must have the super wide shape but a slightly tapered bottom. It also needs a flat wash.”
As simple as it sounds, he said designers are not thinking about how young consumers are wearing their jeans. They want oversized fits with zippers instead of button-flys and minimal pocket designs. “I know it’s maybe not appealing to all of us, but that is reality,” he said.
Special operations
From images of the Ukrainian soldiers fighting Russian troops to the pixelated camouflage in Pharrell William’s debut collection as Louis Vuitton’s men’s creative director, military references in fashion are plentiful. The “feeling of resisting against all these aggressions” is trickling into apparel through prints, patches and pockets, Wröbel said.
There’s a sartorial angle to the theme, however. Wröbel said designers are taking a “simple geometrical approach” to pockets, using minimalist designs and symmetrical placements.
“Proportions, sharpness, and simplicity are key to these products. It’s all about squareness, it’s all about angles. There are very few rounded details,” he added.
Star systems
From Williams’ role at Louis Vuitton to Dua Lipa’s recent turn as a Versace collaborator, the power of celebrity remains powerfully strong in fashion. Star systems, which Wröbel said, “most of the fashion industry has sold their lives and their DNA to,” examines the luxury fashion sector’s evolving relationship with celebrity.
“Brands not only dress famous people, but they also ask them to design entire collections,” he said. “We know that these are all marketing gimmicks. Still, it’s extremely important to watch what’s going on.”
Fashion’s celebrity connection bodes well for denim. “It is somehow surprising to see how much [the denim] industry is fashion-relevant these days,” Wröbel said, noting that denim gowns have appeared on the Met Gala and Venice Film Festival red carpets, and in the haute couture collections of Schiaparelli and Balmain.
As a brand, he said investing in a patternmaker has never been more important. Coatings—from glitzy finishes to clear sheens—are also important in achieving the red carpet-worthy looks.
“It’s taking the denim industry to a new level, so we really need to be careful in how we think about our fabrics and shapes. During development, we need to make sure that we’re not just repeating whatever we’ve been doing for the last 15 years.” he said.
Unbleached nature
Unbleached ecru cotton and Hinoki dyed fabrics, which Wröbel described as having an ecru to light brown color, give brands new ways to interpret bestselling fits.
The colors also lend themselves well to textures like crinkled effects and small neps, which he said are becoming “extremely important.” The earthy colors also work on flat fabrics for a grown-up and effortlessly chic look.
No indigo
Awareness of new indigo-free solutions for blue is growing thanks to efforts made by companies like Huue, Archroma and Crescent Bahuman, Wröbel said. Their new technologies wash, fade and scrap like real indigo without harmful environmental effects. “We’re not talking about water reduction or energy reduction. We’re talking about not using indigo anymore and I think that is an important step forward,” he said.
While real indigo is needed for the super dark heritage jeans, Wröbel said the indigo-free alternatives are prime for everyday jeans in the mass market. “We can somehow have our denim [lifestyle] without polluting the water,” he said.
Belts ’n buckles
The denim industry has not used many belts or buckles in the past 10 years, especially in women’s, but that’s changing. “We’re really into reinventing belts and buckles as embellishments,” Wröbel said.
From Diesel’s belt skirt to more recent examples of stacked belts in collections by Philosophy di Lorenzo Serafini and Foo and Foo to chain belts by Moschino, the use of belts as a statement accessory is growing. Wröbel urged to brands to get creative by adding military-inspired pocketing, exaggerating the length, and applying lacquer finishes to belts.
“Belts are definitely a thing you have to think about. Not only making sure that your belt loops are big enough to fit a proper belt, but also offering belts next to your jean,” he said.
Cover up
Trucker jackets and shirts are tried-and-true denim products, but the categories are morphing into something larger and with greater opportunities for brands. Rather than being an occasional add-on to the sale of a pair of jeans, consumers are making multiple denim outerwear and tops purchases.
“Denim has become a proper material for outerwear,” Wröbel said, noting the trench coats, overcoats, puffers and anorak-style options on the catwalk. “People are actually making money with [outerwear].”
“We are not expected to only sell pants anymore,” he said.