The appearance of traditional Balinese Endek fabrics made by SMEs in the collection of Dior international designers in 2021, has convinced many parties how great the potential for the export of Indonesian literature is. From this case, you as a fashion SME player can observe that even though they still use traditional motifs, Endek fabrics can meet global tastes. The key lies in the flexibility to follow global trends.
That is trends in the global market, differences in market tastes both with local tastes and each destination country, the climate and weather of the export destination country, the right market price, as well as regulations imposed by the government of the fashion export destination country.
Ratna is a facilitator and mentor from the Indonesia Design Development Center (IDDC), a facility under the support of the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia, an institution that functions as a forum for design development as well as a place for learning and mentoring business actors. Regarding trends, you should also take into account that it takes time to prepare a design.
Estimate that you are designing a trending product for at least the next six months. In the event which is part of the Women Entrepreneurship collaboration program with Facebook #SheMeansBusiness 3rd Batch in 2021, Ratna describes several important things that are trending in 2022 fashion, namely:
Circular design process
Awareness of environmental impacts has driven the fashion world since ten years ago. last year started promoting sustainable fashion. The application can be varied, for example, zero-waste designs, making overhauls or recycling damaged products, and so on.
Social commerce
Today is the era of community-based business. More and more fashion brands are putting forward local start-up businesses.
Virtual fashion
The pandemic fosters this trend. Starting from virtual fashion shows, selling through social media and live streaming , to using three-dimensional technology to design fashion products.
Themes
Still related to the pandemic, the fashion theme above keyboard dressing was born, aka fashion trends with a focus on the waist up. This theme was born because many people now communicate more often via computer screens. Its application is in fashion lately and is predicted to continue to grow in 2022 such as unique collar designs to hijabs.
Material
According to Ratna, the fabric materials that will trend next year are transparent fabrics (sheer), satin, jumputan, woven, textured fabrics, and tweed. As an idea, you can combine batik with transparent fabric.
Key items
Ratna mentioned several fashion items that will become a trend in 2022, namely classic shirts with comfortable loose silhouettes in various colors and materials, peter pan collars, draped tops, maxi dresses, A-line dresses, relaxed casual trench coats. , as well as wide leg pants that can be worn on all occasions.
Color
For spring/summer 2022 neutral and light colors will be the trend, while for autumn/winter 2022 warm and earthy colors will be the trend. Actually every year there is a trend like this, but usually there is a slight difference. For example, next year the pink color that will be trending is electric pink, yellow leads to orange, blue gives a calming effect, and so on.
Accessories
“Next year, the tote bag will still be a hit. The trending accessories are those related to sustainable fashion, for example, bags made using leftover leather, as well as accessories that use satin, carpet or tapestry materials, and flexible materials. This trend can be utilized by MSMEs who use woven materials.”
Keywords
The keyword for next year’s trend is grounded which can be translated as anything related to nature, such as natural, warm colors, organic, and rough textures.
Collaboration
Collaboration with other brands, certain communities, designers, or celebrities will become a trend that will also happen more often and make the fashion world more exciting. Do not hesitate. By collaborating and synergizing you can produce more valuable products and wider market opportunities.
Then how to apply the trend in your product design? To develop a product design, Ratna advises you to start by doing research to find local potentials that can be developed. Experiment with the material you choose including developing motifs and trying different processing techniques. Next, sketch the product and make it a contemporary final product.
“Frequently observe and seek inspiration from various things such as movies, traveling, fashion shows, and others and adopt it for your designs. But don’t just copy it. Don’t be afraid to try something new and don’t just follow the shop next door. And keep trying, “said Ratna.
As a fashion entrepreneur, you need to develop creativity and innovation so that you can stand out in the sea of fashion.