What will be the biggest trends to emerge at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Australia 2012? ragtrader.com.au asks three trend forecasting giants for their predictions as day one of the event kicks off.
From the London Olympics to the new digital era, how will the latest global developments play out on the catwalk?
Editd and Scout give their top five bets for the Australian spring/summer 2012/13 season.
Summer Wallbank
WGSN trend editor - Australia and New Zealand
A SPORTING LIFE: With the Olympics taking place this summer, we will be looking for sporting influences which mix elements of utility sportswear with modernist shapes. Woven, bonded and couture-like fabrications will give silhouettes structure, with perforated fabrics becoming the new sports mesh.
WATERBABIES: The world beneath the waves is the key inspiration for this trend as the motion of the tides softens the edges and builds up layers of fantastical colour and silhouettes. Fabric and texture is the essence of this trend, with fabric providing the lightness, the shine and the sparkle. Look for pearlised, iridescent tones and shimmer spray effects with a colour palette of aquarelle pastels, white, silver and all shades of blue
50's TWIST: The mood for all things fifties has been evolving for the past few seasons and set to be a strong look for spring/summer 2012, confirming WGSN's Cinematic macro trend. Encorporating a playful side, feminine ladylike looks are played out in a palette of candy-coated pastels and quirky conversational prints guaranteed to bring a feel-good factor into play. Think Miami and picture-postcard seaside holidays.
MOD COUTURE: For spring/summer we're inspired by the clean modernist lines of the early part of the 60's decade when designers of the era looked to the future for inspiration. Silhouettes look minimal and fabric adds glamour through decorative brocades, jacquards, metallics and sheers. Lean lines and sculptured shapes add a subtle futuristic look.
TRIBAL ARTISIAN: In contrast to the futuristic mood of Mod Couture, Tribal Artisan is more print-driven and inspired by geometric and Deco patterns with across cultural feel. Details have a handcrafted feel, with fringing, embroidery, mosaic embellishment and collaged fabric panelling.
Tony Bannister
Scout director
Australian designers will be on a similar a wavelength to European and American designers when it comes to trends, colours and silhouettes. The difference here will be more pared down and less fussy interpretations for our climate and more laid back lifestyle. However, dressy, sexy and a 'less is more' is asthetic is still a key look for designers wanting to appeal to both an Australian and international clientele.
HIGH IMPACT COLOUR which Australia is renown for, sells and works well in our brighter light and multi-cultural skins. So we will see lots of intense shades including touches of fluro brights, colour blocked and head-to-toe.
ARCHITECTURAL LINES and a strong tailoring presence but in softer fabrications this season.
PRETTY ROMANTIC in a new pastel palette of pretty sorbets with nude and neutral shades with a '50s vibe plus lots of botanical floral prints.
WHITE OUT head-to-toe white in a plethora of light, sheer and transparent fabrications plus lace, Broderie Anglais and anything vintaged and heirloom looking.
TRIBAL ETHNIC references are still showing particularly in a a palette of spicy and exotic hues. Look for Indian paisleys, Indonesian batiks and exotic looking flowers and tribal scribbles.
Katie Smith
Editd - Australian correspondent
The Digital Generation: Australian designers, with their strong eye for colour and eagerness to embrace new technologies, excel at digital prints. They've flown out of stores internationally across the past season, and with consumer sentiment still high, we expect this trend will carry straight through to 2013.
The Military Movement: One of the most talked-about trends online from the Northern Hemisphere AW12/13 shows, astute Australian brands wanting to sell internationally will have picked up on the consumer buzz. Metal detailing and soft tailoring in a utilitarian palette will be the most easily translated features for the Australian market.
The Roaring 20s: With vintage styles still reigning as the most talked about theme online this season, Australian designers are pitched to indulge in nostalgic styles. The interest surrounding the local filming of The Great Gatsby remake, and a proliferation of 1920s styles selling well on the international highstreet, we expect designers to have taken inspiration. Consumer sentiment towards the 1920s reached a new high mid-April.
Birds of a Feather: Commercial embracing of surface texture has seen designers taking ever more innovative approaches to fabrication. All-over feathers are the bold option, but one that is appealing to consumers globally - EDITD track 3,715 feathered garments currently retailing online and a further 3,035 which are out of stock.
Stripes Ahoy: Although last year’s floral passion won’t have entirely faded, designers will be backing stripes with force. Over the month of the AW12/13 shows, stripes were the most talked about print online and in the last six months the volume of that discussion has increased by 25 per cent. Designers prepare: customers want them!