Menswear returns to refined classics for F/W ’18, street culture spikes

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Fashion is no stranger to the term ‘History repeats itself’, and through the years, it has been made evident that fashion is cyclical. Designers recycle trends from bygone eras, citing them as inspirations to appeal the present-day audience. Though some trends prove themselves to be classics no matter what year we are in, there are others that we wish would just poof out as the day dawns. A much needed transition from the mass procurement of streetwear and athleisure-inspired styles towards cleaner and more grown-up styles has emerged as a key defining trend for the Fall/Winter 2018 season.

A massive chunk of designers are shifting their focus away from a crescendo of casual everyday looks to incorporate a more refined and traditional sense. Functionality and utility are up for the taking too, with performance fabrics and workwear inspired silhouettes appearing across multiple international runways.

Logos and typefaces made for a recurring theme – the idea of a collection being relatable to the direct consumer has all sorts of commercial value attached to it. Nostalgia underplays travel-induced insomnia with landscapes and vistas emerging as one of the popular print pattern motivations.

The current target market in question, the millennials, is a generation that believes not in owning, but in doing and experiencing. This has fuelled the questioning and re-evaluating of long-held power structures and company ideals within the industry. The new generation wants to speak up about taboo topics, they want to talk about diversity, transsexualism, women empowerment, body positivity, sexual liberation, politics and sexual harassment to interject the lines of creative freedom. They demand a collection that bears semblance to each of these topics, and to have some weight.

A rigid dichotomy between form and function is deciding the future of fashion with consumers rising to the occasion and asking for more thought-provoking, innovative and emotive pieces that form a one-on-one connect.

From the colour of the season to the print in question to the silhouettes to own, here are the trends that will be shaping the world of fashion in the seasons to come…