Trends and colours from Clariant for autumn-winter 2013-2014
28/05/2012
“The austerity mindset and stark minimalism that have shaped fashion over the past few seasons have lost their grip on the trend themes for autumn-winter 2013-14,” the company said on announcing the new trends. “Fashion up perfectly illustrates this change in mood, with four new trends in leather for the seasons ahead. With Clariant’s Modern Dandy and Crystalline themes, decadence and gleaming surfaces make a welcome return for autumn-winter 2013-14. For those who prefer something a little less flamboyant, Derby Day places an equestrian slant on country heritage and everyday function is covered in Utility Military.”
Modern Dandy is a theme that supports Oscar Wilde’s and the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood’s romantic view of the world to inspire “a new age of bohemia”. Rich jewel-like colours and textures such as under glass metallics, glossy patent and exotics ignore austerity measures and wallow in opulence. “Edwardian dandies and male peacocks define apparel trends, which are accessorised with glamorous heels and decorative slippers,” the booklet says.
For Derby Day the sporting spectacle inspires “the latest equestrian mood”. Saddlery leathers, polished calf, classic grains and tweeds in a traditional brown and tan palette have a timeless appeal. Dressy riding clothes with a smart, classic appearance update the long-running country heritage theme.
The minimalist movement and low-key mood of the past few seasons have caused a dramatic backlash to dazzling eveningwear and flamboyant daytime looks, and this is where Crystalline comes in. Reflective surfaces in shimmering metallics and amethyst tints, mimicking rock strata and metal ores, are styled into crystal encrusted and molten metallic accessories.
Army uniforms and industrial workwear are perennial fashion themes that both have a strong ‘form follows function’ principle at their core. So, for the Utility Military theme, colours mix typical battledress colours with bold brights. Practical everyday styling salutes functional textures including rugged leathers and sturdy canvas. Pixilated camouflage prints and camouflage relief brickwork on a modernist building suggest ideas for “new disruptive patterns”, Clariant has said.
Continuing its close cooperation with MODEUROP, the Fashion Pool at DSI (Das Schuhinstitut GmbH), Clariant has also launched its new Global Colour Card for autumn-winter 2013-14. Following the last, colour-intensive, optimistic-feeling season, the new colour trend, called Drama, veers initially to the gloomy, mystical and morbid. Romanticism comes back into play, but it is dark shaded and mysterious. In contrast, many nebulous, cool and bright shades of winter pastels can be seen in the second colour trend, Shadow. And the retro trend of the past years persists with the third trend, History, which is a range of intense classical colours.
Drama is dominated by the colours of the night. From black to similar dark shades, rather gloomy with a prevailing melancholy and a touch of the theatrical, and a poetic or spiritual atmosphere. But there are also powerful accents of colour, seductive and stimulating, with luxury impulses reminiscent of jewels and precious metals.
In Shadow, the shades of shadow play, created by light. From ‘Dust’ to ‘Clay’, from ‘Mauve’ to ‘Dove’ – the colour spectrum alongside grey and brown covers all those dusty intermediate shades of typical winter pastels: nebulous, indefinable and blurry, often foggy or smoky, sometimes slightly transparent or opaque.
Whether the Victorian or the Edwardian eras – the British retro trend persists, covered here by History. Inspired by historical references to art and literature, colours are opulent and lush. The colours also derive their richness from nature, like the colour changes of an autumnal forest providing an extensive palette with no boundaries.
All the illustrated colours in Clariant’s Global Colour Card show Wet End formulations achieved with the Melioderm dyestuff range. The finishing recipes are based on Clariant’s Neosan 2000 and PPE Pigment range.
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