Still oh-so inspired by recent shopping trips and fashion weeks, Boardmans is busy developing our key stories for autumn / winter 2016.
We’ve brought together our ideas, trends, research – not to mention some of our most beautiful buys sourced in some of the world’s most stylish cities – to create more seasonal mood boards.
In doing so, we hope to inspire and innovate by showcasing some of the trends and accessories we’ll be bringing to life next year that we know your customers will love.
This week our spotlight is on the soft, pretty and free-spirited aesthetic, Bohemian Craft. It’s the second of our autumn / winter 2016’s transitional stories and follows on from Off Beat, which we introduced last week.
The Bohemian Craft trend featured heavily at last month’s spring / summer 16 fashion weeks – especially so in New York, where 1970s luxe and artisan were big news for summer accessories.
Sarah Burton, Creative Director for Alexander McQueen, was another early adopter at London Fashion Week. We were truly inspired with her most wonderful weaving, artisanal crafting and love of folklore. Her fabrics looked aged and decayed – from gentle frays in the surface of washed silk gowns to jeans with exaggerated shredded cuffs.
This stylishly slightly ‘tousled’ trend is set to get even bigger as temperatures drop and nights draw in – continuing well into autumn / winter with a spin-off theme gaining momentum through artisanal detailing and true crafted looks.
And we’re in great company. Global womenswear buyers are also backing the seventies as one of next year’s top trends – sharing our belief that the decade’s silhouettes, materials, texture and detailing will be one that their customers will want to wear. What’s more, it’s accessibility and versatility means that almost everyone will be able to adopt the look – especially so for accessories, where the addition of one of our garments will give a notable nod to the trend.
Bohemian Craft is casual, organic and free-flowing. It errs on the androgynous and is best suited to those more dressed-down days. It’s all about cosy and effortless styling but with the addition of craft-like embellishments – giving each garment that super-stylish upcycled look.
In terms of colour palette, Bohemian Craft is autumnal and woody – based on natural tones and timber shades. We’ve then paired these warm neutrals with simply stunning chambray blue tones – supporting the season’s evolution of blue into more chalky, powdery notes. It’s a key hue for next autumn / winter and gives the most wonderful winter pastel colour pop. It’s also an easy and versatile way to incorporate denim – which is already set to be the most fabulously strong fabric for the season – into our collection.
When it comes to materials and textures, mixed knits and layering will be strong for this story. Think lumberjack checks in autumnal rustic tones and bouclé yarns. We’ll then add that all-important boho craft detailing with decorative needlework, embroideries, embellishments and rich multi-hues threads. As well as adding interest and a touch of luxury, each of these techniques will provide the most perfect updates to the perennial bohemian trend.
It’s a look that we first fell for on the catwalks of Milan as a popular way to update staple accessories. At Boardmans we’ve adopted a similar 3D approach to decoration – using artisanal embroidery, leather appliqué and beading techniques to create the most delightful design statements on our casual fabrics and knits.
And as with many designers next year, fringing and tassels will be key design details of our Bohemian Craft story. We’ll be mixing yarn-fringes, stop start fringes and longline features to achieve this longed for look.
We’ll also be expanding this hand-crafted theme with deconstruction fashion techniques. It’s an aesthetic that’s been widely adopted in recent seasons with the likes of rips, raw hems, frayed edges, revealed linings, exposed zippers and unusually sewn seams being effortlessly included across all garment categories.
Products that underpin our Bohemian Craft mood board are the knitted poncho, textured woven scarf and exaggerated tassel scarf. Whether that’s in patterned or textured knits – or with fringing and tassels – all are accessible accessories that will enable all of your customers to tap into the trend.
In terms of head wear, statement hats are becoming increasingly commercial – featuring on the streets at fashion weeks, as well as on catwalks and through to retail. It’s a look that we expect to become even more popular as we enter autumn / winter 16, which is why we’re expecting our floppy brimmed felt fedora to be a key accessory in our range. Long worn by the most stylish of celebrities, we’ll be working them in the neutral, woody tones of our Bohemian Craft colour palette.
And we’ve earmarked the slouchy Fair Isle beanie as another leading garment to support this story. The knit, pattern and textures truly reflect the handcrafted look and will be a quick, simple and cost effective way for your customers to buy into boho.
Take a closer look at our Bohemian Craft mood board here.
