Fine art and imitation art are behind two of the four trends on display at last week’s Munich Bluezone.
The two-day trade show was driven by consumers’ appreciation for form, flair and process, and Gen Z’s grassroots approach to fast-paced apparel by mills, laundries and manufacturers, said creator Tilman Wurbel. Coordinating Director of Monsieur-T and Bluezone Trends.
At the “Modern Art Emporium,” clothes reflect art fashion and retail and vice versa.
“It’s more than just a designer saying it’s Mondrian’s clothes,” Worbel said.
From Uniqlo-sponsored events at Tate Modern to Gucci’s use of street art as billboards to towering installations at Louis Vuitton stores worldwide to promote his second collaboration with Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, art is the new immersive experience.
“Fashion trends are so fast-paced and superficial that we’re seeing brands these days looking for something a little higher.
Or at least that’s what it should be. Worbel cautioned against asking brands to spray paint factories on jeans. “Take it seriously…not everyone can make art,” he said. “If you’re into art, do it with a real artist.”
An artist’s touch can make an outfit even more unique—this quality is the theme of BlueZone’s second trend story, “One by One Theory.”
Forget matching, Worbel says Gen Z stores sell and dress “with the stuff.”
The team enjoys the experience of picking new and fresh grapes. You may like one item for a special color treatment and another for the story. “It’s great because that’s the story,” he said. “They put clothes together and there is no connection.”
This “fashion chaos” is an example of how Gen Z is moving away from traditional fashion systems. “And now it’s being adopted by all the top fashion brands,” said Worbel, pointing to the ethical nature of collections and stores.
Mixing vintage with new merchandise is one way brands and retailers can replicate the one-to-one experience. The strategy can also be applied to the trade show floor to drive discovery.
“Think about it because [trade show] When you have a shelf that’s all green and another all red and another all light blue… think about creating a super strong product with a super strong message. “Think of things in a different way.”
Visuals have never been more important, especially in BlueZone’s third trending story, “Insta-Talk Life.”
Although Worbel says Instagram’s fashion power is fading and Facebook is a place where distant relatives spam, investing in TikTok is a “must” to stay connected to the next generation.
“It’s also a place where fashion is rampant, imitation is so fast and you can’t even think about doing a trend or something that goes with it,” he says.
Worbel was referring to a flood of bills designed to protect celebrities’ clothing, from Kim Kardashian’s Balenciaga-branded caution tape to Kate Middleton’s coat skirts. The difference is that instead of buying into the trend, they’re copying what’s high and DIY in people’s closets.
“[Julia Fox] She cuts the waistband of her jeans, and then there’s a video of a girl cutting her own jeans,” he said. “It’s an immediate thing.”
Wröbel went on to describe these as 24-hour trends. “The trend on Wednesday morning is already on Thursday morning,” he said.
However, trends are not always new. Worbel points out how Gen Z feeds Instagram and Tik Tok accounts dedicated to Princess Diana’s casual ’90s uniform of straight jeans and a logo sweater or varsity jacket.
As a result, Gen Z says it’s “reinventing the kind of denim that we think are completely new.” [uninteresting] But for them it is completely new.
Consumers’ interest in the British royal family—even to a special engagement to model the high-street brand Middleton wears—is particularly noteworthy.
“This… we have something very old. We have a lot to do with the royal family. We have never seen this much. [interest] Warbel said about fashion. “They are people. [having] Fun to imitate the royal life. That is the reality now.”
BlueZone’s final theme, “Low Tech, No Tech,” defies these fast-moving fashions.
Describing the concept as the hippie version of hippie style, Worbel said society’s desire to downsize and declutter is leading to a fun design.
And it’s more than just using a flip phone. A new low-tech design adds an “artistic expression” to products with the future in mind.
For denim, its history and culture is built on vintage and heritage.
Worbel points out that there are opportunities to make the next generation of durable, sustainable jeans through largely underutilized processes like “old-fashioned” shuttle weaving. “We all know conveyor belts go slower so the threads are nicer” “It’s a way to make stronger jeans.”
Rather than portraying denim as heritage or making it look like Levi’s jeans from the 1800s, he urged designers to do the opposite: use cool processes to create “well-made” clothing in a modern style for low-tech hipsters.
Incorporating and fixing “unwashable” messages are other ways brands can incorporate low-tech ideas into their collections.
“I see that we’re not developing enough of that low-tech trend that really speaks to the new youth and the next generation and the next generation. [the denim industry’s] Knowledge of being low-tech,” he said.
