Buyers' Briefing Newness A/W 19/20

Womenswear
Fabric
Silky handles meet the demand for feminine
dressing and are the next big fabric trend to watch.
The fabrics that go hand in hand with the seasonal
trends are evidenced in this report

WSJ
 Action Points
Fundamental shifts in womenswear for A/W 19/20 are
echoed in the season's fabrics. First, the rise of
femininity requires silky handles for drape and softness.
Second, there is a bigger push around sustainability, as
target dates draw ever closer. This report details each of
the trends, offering sustainable options and drawing
attention to fabrics that pose significant risk.
1. Rebalance your structured shirting fabrics with silky
satins and jacquards for an anticipated focus on
feminine dresses and blouses with softness and drape.
2. Leathers are important for timeless pieces,
particularly jackets. Leathers are supple, while reptile
skins have a more structured feel.
3. Cosiness grows as a key selling point and is a big
driver for the knitwear category. Brushed finishes are a
new surface for coats, while borg is updated through
panelling.
4. A new interest in vintage includes glamorous trims
for partywear and thrifted wovens for coats.
5. Corduroy expands across new product categories
and is updated in seasonal brights.

House of Dagmar
 New Vintage
New Vintage fabrics update dominant heritage and sartorial
checks, particularly for outerwear and jackets. An increase in
texture is apparent, from heavy slub weaves and blanket
qualities to brushed surfaces.
The thrifted appearance of these fabrics means they lend
themselves well to upcycled and recycled yarns and
deadstock fabrics, which can be worked into limited editions
S Moda
through panelled constructions.

Eurowoman

Evidence

Consumer driver: vintage as renewed

inspiration

WGSN forecast: Purpose Full vintage

construction textiles

News: one-third of women in the

US shopped thrift last year

@iconaccidental Vogue México

 Luxe Leather
As designers continue to turn their backs on real fur, there is
an increase in leathers at luxury brands to fill this void at exit
price-points. Expect this influence to trickle down to mass
market.
From a sustainability standpoint, leather comes with its own
issues, but there is an increase in the demand for vegan
leathers and a constant stream of start-ups introducing ever-
more unusual non-synthetic, bio-based leather alternatives,
feeding interest and innovation in leathers. For A/W 19/20, Fendi
leathers are soft with gathered waistlines, rounded shoulders
and puffed silhouettes.
Prada @parcel.moscow

Evidence
Catwalk data: for A/W 18/19, leather/faux leather
apparel increased 5%. For S/S 19, it increased 11%
to hold 3% of apparel
WGSN Instock data: luxury retailers show
leather/faux leather apparel +52% in the UK and
+28% in the US
News: well-known brands work with lab-grown
leather

@simotto Stylist @arethestockholm

 Brushed/Soft-
Touch
Soft, cosy textures are key for the season, with brushed,
lofty fabrics coming into play for statement coats and
jackets in blanket qualities.
These airy yarns are also relevant for knitwear. Due to
increasing concerns around animal husbandry, use
alpaca or vicuna as an alternative to mohair, or provide
your customer with transparency and reassurance on
Glamour Mexico your mohair sourcing.
Valery Kovalska
Brushed surfaces add dimension to seasonal brights, so
use this fabric as a fashion story to play out newness
Evidence Alexa Chung within the coats category early in the season.

WGSN Instock data: brushed

apparel products increase 54% in the
UK and 31% in the US YoY across
A/W new-ins

Influential brands: Ganni, Vince,

Eileen Fisher, Acne

Influencer: @hollywilloughby wears

a brushed coat in M&S's Christmas
social video

Paul & Joe WSJ Lanificio Luigi Ricceri

 Sleek Satin
Satins continue to be relevant and grow in importance
through items such as the bias-cut skirt and vintage-style
dress. Silky handles will create the right amount of drape
and carry the intensity of colour the consumer has come to
expect.
Synthetics blends are an easy option for entry price-points,
but consider cellulosics, in particular Lyocell or viscose
rayon, as an inclusion to improve the sustainability
credentials of the fabric. Solace London

Wild peace silk is a good option for higher price points.

@nanushka Rowen Rose

Evidence

WGSN's The Feed: track #satin via the

newest influencers and inspiration

Catwalk data: shine increased 18% YoY on

the A/W 18/19 catwalks and a further 19%
YoY for the S/S 19 shows

Brands/designers: Reformation, Nanushka

and Rowen Rose

@pernilleteisbaek @blancamiro Love Want

 Soft Vinyl
While its trend credentials are obvious, vinyl poses a
problem from a sustainability standpoint due to the toxicity
of the plastics, particularly the chloride.
The best options for creating this look are to use
polyurethane, which has a lower toxic content, recycled PU,
or deadstock fabrics. Explore cellulosic or resin coatings as
another alternative.
Carefully monitor your customers' views on plastic issues, as
this fabric, more so than others, has an obvious plastic @shrimps

finish, so will be less appealing to some.

Rejina Pyo Rowen Rose

Key item: macs, casual jackets, pencil skirts

Key drops: drop for the first true autumn deliveries
in September, carrying through to October
Selling points: as the consumer becomes better
informed about sustainable fashion, there is a risk
here, so approach your buy with caution

@thora_valdimars V Magazine @ssense

 Texturised
There is an increase in dimension and textural contrasts
across the seasonal fabrics. Cloqué and blistered effects
bring newness to lightweight wovens such as dresses and
blouses, in seasonal brights.
Blistered knits update base layers, as the second-skin top fast
becomes a hardworking layering piece, helping to mitigate
against unpredictable weather patterns.
16Arlington

Cloqué in matte finishes offers a new fashion fabric for

fashion and careerwear blouses, and can move into metallic
and shiny finishes for partywear.

Sicky

Key item: second-skin poloneck, bias-cut

dress, demure blouse, V-neck shirt

Key drops: first deliveries, with a second

push for high-season partywear in winter
colours

Selling points: more forgiving and

figure-flattering than silkies and satins,
and less prone to snagging

ROTATE @ellenclaesson
 Reptile
The recent success of leopard print has spurred a range
of other animal prints looking to replicate its volumes.
Snakeskin has already started to uptrend in natural and
recoloured versions; expect this to continue into next
year.
Crocodile skins focus on texture rather than print, so are
best worked in leather and vegan leathers on structured
Sandy Liang dresses and jackets. Croc is less prevalent but where the
Nanushka
newness lies. Natural colourations have a broader
appeal and will appeal to a contemporary market,
Evidence differentiated from the brightly coloured reptile prints
@erika_boldrin
which sit more within the entry price, fast-fashion market.
WGSN Instock data: an early
indicator of this trend, luxury retailers
show a YoY rise in croc apparel of
32% in the UK and 14% in the US

Influential brands: Burberry,

Nanushka, Tom Ford

WGSN's The Feed: #snakeskin

Love Want Grazia Netherlands Burberry

 Fringes &
Feathers
Sitting within the Future Gatsby 1920s theme, fringes and
feathers play into vintage glamour for partywear
assortments. Fringes are long, with placements varying from
hemlines to the shoulder or back. Beaded strings have a luxe
feel for higher price points.
Feathers are a more complex issue, as many retailers are no
longer stocking feather product. There is an option to use
faux feather, although the look is not a direct replica. If you
are using real feathers, then make sure you're able to Muse Magazine
communicate your animal husbandry policies to your
customer.
Love Magazine Dries Van Noten

Key drops: partywear

Brands/designers: Attico, 16 Arlington, Dries

van Noten, MSGM

Sustainable alternatives: faux feathers at

Louis Vuitton Pre-Summer 19

Key items: Gatsby gown, the slip, miniskirts

Free People 16Arlington Fendi

 Matte-Shine
Silkies
After many seasons of woven tops driven by structured
shirting, there is a turn in the tide to a softer handle, bringing
drape and femininity to blouses and dresses. This appetite
for silky handles throws up a new iteration, with self-
patterned jacquards and matte-shine effects on supple
silkies. There are plenty of key item options for this fabric, so
a volume buy is advised.
Réalisation
Use jacquards to replay summer's retro florals in a subtle and
sophisticated way for A/W. Vintage florals or scattered spots
and dots also work well.

@emilisindlev

Evidence

WGSN Instock data: jacquard is +26% in

the UK and +24% in the US. Luxury
retailers in both regions increase +67%

Brands/designers: Blazé Milano, Magda

Butrym, Mother of Pearl

Sourcing guide: supple silkies

@dilettabonaiuti Mother of Pearl

 Panelled
Shearling
The success of borg fleece sees it return for A/W 19/20. All-
over applications continue, but newness lies in panelled
shearling, particularly for the denim category and the trucker.
Fleece panels also update the biker.
The pieced effect lends itself well to upcycled products, or
consider the use of deadstock denim. Use reversible options
to cater to the increasing consumer demand for versatility
@colovosofficial
and practicality. Shearling has proven itself to be a solid
option for coats and jackets, as it has been fairly unaffected
by the unseasonal weather.

Topshop

Key item: reworked trucker, updated

biker, pieced coat, upcycled jacket

Key drops: first deliveries and back-to-

campus

Selling points: reversible and detachable

linings; bridges the gap between late
summer and cold weather; opportunity to
use deadstock fabrics or upcycled denim

@levis Grazia Italy

 Coloured Cord
Corduroy has quickly become established as the volume
fashion fabric to watch for A/W 18/19, carrying the
seasonal brights along with press pieces such as the DB
suit.
The impact of corduroy is set to continue into next
autumn, expanding to cover more shape options, such as
the boilersuit and minidress, in a greater diversity of
wales, including the narrower options seen at Staud.
Grazia UK Balance the continued rise of cord against your denim
category, which will likely feel the knock-on impact of the
popularity of cord for casuals.

@thora_valdimars

Corduroy ▲
UK +355%
US +205% YoY
Staud Sandy Liang Cosmopolitan Turkey
 Methodology
WGSN Instock data
• Based on women's products across 122 retailers
UK and US retailers from August 1 2018 to October
13 2018. Historical data was collected from August
1 2017 to October 13 2017
• Please note, some retailers are excluded to ensure
like-for-like calculations and to avoid inflated
product counts due to the acquisition of new
retailers on the Instock platform
• Numbers may fluctuate as we recategorise to
help clarify ambiguous/new products or if retailers
refactor their website
Definitions
• New in: new products available online during the
specified period by retailer, category or sub-category
• Market segmentation: retailers are segmented by
their reaction to trend. Trend-led retailers are those
that are first to respond. Contemporary retailers
work alongside trend to create their own look. Value
retailers include supermarket and other value
brands. Mass market are those that don't lead the
trends but follow them. The luxury market
represents high-end retailers
WGSN Catwalks data
• WGSN is supplied with images covering all of the
major catwalk shows and pre-season collections.
Each look is classified with its individual garments,
allowing us to get accurate counts for each product
classification. This ensures the tags apply at a
garment level, not to the whole look
• The garments are then given further keywords for
style, silhouette, neckline, length, print and pattern,
detail, embellishment and fabric. This process is
completed by our panel of fashion-trained image
taggers. Each image is quality checked for accuracy
by an in-house team
This report uses data based on A/W 18, A/W 19,
S/S 19 and S/S 18 collections across London, Milan,
New York and Paris

Elle Sweden

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