Streetwear Trend Report

SS13 Streetwear Trend Report
Tradeshow Special: What’s hot in upcoming apparel collections

We all know that streetwear, and boardsports apparel on the whole, has been going through some difficult times lately. We’ve seen the numbers: apparel sales took a dramatic drop, up to 40% in some markets, during the first half of 2011, followed by a tentative rebound, held back by overstock in stores and hesitation to write big apparel orders. But as it turns out, rumours of the death of streetwear have been greatly exaggerated. The category is bouncing back with style and finesse  – designers are paying close attention to the streets and have created what might be the most diverse and thought-out streetwear line-up to date. Here’s our guide to the SS13 apparel collections. By Dirk Vogel.

SKUs and price points: Rock steady

In order to keep collections manageable, apparel companies are treating SKUs like the controls in a nuclear power plant; careful not to mess with them too much. Similar to the footwear segment (see Trend Report in the last issue of SOURCE), apparel SKUs for SS13 remain stable overall, with novelty products filling the slots of outdated items, or high-performing styles broadening into more varieties. At Globe, design manager Oliver Cousins says: “Style count has dropped but SKUs remain about the same. We’ve chosen to go deeper in our better styles.”

Some companies have also recently expanded SKU counts, including Element: “Having expanded the SKU numbers in Spring 12, we feel confident to carry on with the same amount and present them throughout the same segmentation as for Fall 12,” says Julien Duval, Brand Manager. And here’s a company that’s been moving upping its stake in streetwear with expanding collections and on-point designs: Vans! Says Product Director Rene Nay; “Compared to the SS12 collection the number of SKU’s will increase. We are working on an SKU efficiency plan, but overall the offer is slightly bigger because we will expand our key categories; tanks and boardshorts will increase slightly and we’re building on strengths in our footwear line with key apparel pieces from California, OTW and Taka Hayashi.”

As far as price points go, most brands responded like Joni Malmi at Makia: “Despite the ever increasing Far East manufacturing pricing we have maintained our pricing at the same level as the previous seasons.” Although many admit that it’s not easy, including Michelle Rushbrooke at Nikita: “Sourcing is now an issue when it comes to pricing, also cotton and other fabric increases isn’t helping brands. We are conscious of that and try to keep styles within each product group to a targeted price-point.”

Daniel Fitzgerald at Broke announces: “Price points will come down this season compared to seasons past. Larger volumes in sales have allowed us to negotiate with many of our factories.” At the same time, brands are also getting comfortable again with asking the right price for providing solid value. Says Altamont apparel Designer Danny Reyes: “Like most brands, we’ve felt the pinch on price points over that past year. At Altamont, our main concern is to make our product correctly. In some categories we’ve adjusted our prices up. Not necessarily because of the price of cotton or any other economic bummer, but because we are generally producing higher quality pieces.”

Collection themes: Inspired by life

The overriding themes for upcoming collections are as diverse as they’ve ever been. But they share one common denominator: Streetwear themes are strongly based on what’s happening in everyone’s lives right now! Says Altamont’s Danny Reyes: “We’re all broke and we’ve been broke for a minute, so the ‘Stay-cation’ that was popular last year isn’t quite cutting it. This season we take a trip into the far off stretches of our own minds!”

Over at RVCA, Marketing Coordinator Kathi Knörle explains: “Our SS13 line is an exclusive reinterpretation of inspirations taken from – Pacific Beatnik – silky smooth vagabonds of the early 60’s beatnik and jazz community who, on their way to gracing the warm shores of the Pacific with their colorful ways, experience  the Mescalito Highway and its dusty adventure of body and mind: desert roads and the beating sun.”

Alpinestars have a lot going on, explains Elena Radina: “There’s one collection we’re calling ‘Repurpose’ which is more of a classic, almost streetwear look to it. Then there’s ‘Degenerate,’ which is a bit more edgy. There’s a theme called ‘Future Primitive’ with inspiration from our technical heritage and finally we have ‘Moto-Comp,’ aimed at a more moto audience, but in a fresh and unique way.”

Makia found inspiration right on their doorstep, says Joni Malmi: “We got inspired by the shipyard that we can see from our office sauna window, old red cranes, grayish blue warehouses and surrounding areas. We’ve spent most of our time around the office area instead of travelling to some exotic countries for inspiration, so this came naturally for us and fits our brand.” Meanwhile Michelle Rushbrooke at Nikita said: “Summer evokes a feeling of being outdoors, having fun and exploring. ‘Camping on the beach’ is one of the main themes for this collection, incorporating nautical themes in our graphics and colours!”

Vans is also staying close to the water, says Rene Nay: “The beach meets the street! It’s all about California and Skateboarding. This is where we come from as a brand. It’s a mentality that blends beach culture with city life, skateboarding and surfing and the culture that has developed since the beginning of Vans in 1966. For SS’13 we really wanted to show our roots…”

Broke is running a four-pronged approach, said Daniel Fitzgerald: “We have four main themes or merchandising stories. Biker, Heritage, Vintage Sport and Fashion Street.”

Oliver Cousins at Globe sums up the current collection: “We’ve worked hard on building well priced, on-trend basics throughout all categories. In wovens it’s the Goodstock program which consists of denim, chinos and shirts. In knits our Moonshine story shows a range of textured and yarn-dye stripe tees and tanks. Our Super Boardie offers a retro looking four-way stretch boardie at an entry price level in five colours.” Another important trend, according to Oliver: “Minimal branding is definitely a key trend so we’ve focused on the fabric, colours and fit more.”

At Analog, Joey Jorgensen, Director of design and merchandising says: “We’ve continued to focus on a clean and modern take on classics this season with a mashed up emphasis on prints and mixing fabric and pattern for a departure forward from the overly saturated work wear looks.” And the bad boys at KR3W are bent on keeping it 100% street, says marketing director Axel Pauporté: “KR3W doesn’t really do ‘themes’… our influence as always is the collaboration, inspiration, and cross-cultural influx from our KR3W skate team.”

Colors and materials: Feeling the blues

After a long reign of military earth tones, gun-metal greys and black, streetwear is popping off with some colors again. And THE hottest color of all right now… is blue! Says Danny Reyes, Altamont: “Navy, royal, indigo, blue. A lot of blue, all together!” Julien Duval, at Element is on the same page: “Navy blue will definitely be a strong color again for us. Color themes are going from Berry to Vintage Blue and Yellow.” Makia is also feeling the blues, says Jani: “A new color for SS13 is a stone-washed and hand-sanded blue wash. As we’re trying to create our own path, for us blue in different shades is the most obvious colour in our collection and there is also quite a bit of pale red.”

Rene Nay at Vans sees colours heading back to more vibrant tones: “The Minimalism that ruled the last few seasons is slowing down. Contrast details and allover prints are emerging again. Knitted tees and tanks are featuring treated and/or washed colors. Denim bottoms are still dark and raw, but chinos and five-pocket denim styling pants in non-denim fabrics are definitely gaining momentum.”

Michelle at Nikita highlights summery colors and materials, also in combination with contrasting hues: ”Extra thin and lightweight is the latest, from burnout mesh and stripes, checked shirt fabrics, light denim fabrics to name just a few. As mentioned before nautical inspired colors like coral, see weed, sea blues and greens are more noticeable used with grey tones.” Joey Jorgensen at Analog identifies “mixing” as a new trend: “There is definitely more color and pattern than we’ve seen for a while. Materials, both clean and textured are mixed for new looks.”

Oliver Cousins at Globe is looking past the summer months: “Autumn colours in bottoms are burgundy, Field Green, Camel,” before switching to materials, which will be dominated by, “textured knits in fleece and jersey. Oxford, mini checks. Indigo Denim has slowed down.” Brands like Alpinestars have already found their own niche, says Elena Radina: “Bright Orange has been a dominant trend as has High-Visibility Yellow which we have been using for many years. For materials, I’d say the trend has shifted towards either classic or textured solids.”

KR3W is also sticking to their guns: “We are staying true to our roots offering tonal greys and blacks in the form of washes and finishing on denim, wovens and knits. We have also infused some dusty spring colors like Terracotta and Mellow Cyan that work back perfectly to our seasonal staples,” says Axel Pauporté. Thomas Van Do, Plan B Head designer in the US explains: “We tend to use the basic primary colours and secondary colors in every season. The Formula should apply to every season. Sport color combos or darks with some pop. Neutral colours will always be grey, khaki and for SP13 we’re adding Surplus to tie back to the military Inspiration.”

Fits and silhouettes: Staying out of hipster land

When it comes to pants, most companies will tell you that fits are still trending on the slim side, although treading carefully around hipster-esque and super-skinny fits. Says Joey Jorgensen at Analog: “Pants continue to show lots of success in a slimmer, more narrow silhouette, although not too tight and skinny. We’re also seeing the relaxed, slouch fits continue to maintain momentum as well.”

Vans product director Rene Nay sees a similar trend: “We want to keep a good shape of the body offering a slightly relaxed fit. Trends in general are going a bit more relaxed, but it’s important to never lose the body silhouette.” Jani at Makia announces an addition to their line: “We added quite a bit of shorts into the line, and there is new slimmer and shorter fit included.” Thomas at Plan B explains: “The fits are dialed. We are accommodating a comfortable fit and adding functionality for our riders and consumer.”

KR3W is “really excited about the K Slim Taper fit we introduced in Holiday,” says Axel Pauporté, adding: “It’s basically the upper part of the K Slim, our best selling fit, and the bottom of the K Skinny. It’s for the guy who wants a little more roomy, slouchy fit up top, but a really clean, narrow leg at the bottom. We’re doing it both in jeans and chinos.”

The real action, when it comes to fits this coming season, is with tops – just look at Element: “We have always been able to foresee the trends and we’ve already implemented new contemporary fitting in our jacket and top categories,” says Julien Duval, adding: “Our jacket program has been having an amazing response at retail and I think we got our fitting on point.”

Altamont has also been updating their uppers: “Our fits in tops and jackets have definitely evolved over the past few seasons. Specifically in jackets, we’ve tried to introduce new silhouettes. We’ve mixed in different lengths and trench coat styles. We also have a traditional sport coat, that’s picked up quite a buzz for something that isn’t released yet!” says Danny Reyes. Analog is also coming out with a reengineered line of tops, says Joey Jorgensen: “In addition to our classic staple fits, we’re telling a new fit story across multiple tops categories with a relaxed, ‘dropped’ shoulder silhouette that throws a nod to the mid-90’s more relaxed fit, while still staying narrow through the body.”

Says Kathi Knörle at RVCA: “Slim fit pants and short length walkshorts are driving the silhouettes. Regarding tops and jackets, fits are adjusted, and short sleeves are making a strong come-back on shirts.” Globe has been making some interesting overall adjustments, especially to t-shirts, says Oliver Cousins: “We’ve updated the tee shirt to a slightly longer, slimmer fit to tie back with what we’re selling in Australia.”

Outfits: Throwing it all together

So how about throwing all these elements together into an outfit? “If I had to pick a summer look which represent the best the current urban trend right now, I would go for a pair of original skate shoes, a pair of slim-fit colored chino pants and a nice knit top. To top it off, add a pair of retro sunglasses and a lumberjack beard!” says Julien Duval at Element. Thomas Van Do at Plan B also thinks in outfits: “I think kits are important for the Plan B Consumer – he is very proud to wear the ‘B’ and tends to match Hat with shoes or shoes with tee or vice versa.”

Elena at Alpinestars sums up the hottest summer trend: “One of the most dominant, especially for summer, is the tank top and short-length short trend!” The current look for Oliver Cousins at Globe would be: “A pair of boots or low canvas, like the Globe Flat Charlies, paired with rolled up Chinos, and a Button Down woven. If it’s hot, it’s the elastic waist pool short, with a sleeveless tee or tank.” For Kathi at RVCA, it’s all about: “Geometric Heritage patterns on a short sleeve shirt worn with a denim elastic waistband walkshort.”

Daniel Fitzgerald at Broke has his finger on another trend you’ll be seeing at upcoming tradeshows: “We are seeing a resurgence of military style products and themes, so we have done some shorts and jackets in rip-stop. Other than that, we are using lighter-weight fabrics and flamed jersey in many of our tees.”

Oh, and before we end this trend report, here’s another hot item to look out for: Red pants! Seriously… remember where you heard it first! See you next time – keep it clean!

Handpicked Winners

What are some products the brand managers and designers just cannot live without? Here are their handpicked winners for SS13…

Altamont: 1. The Perennial, floral print woven and short by Andrew Reynolds 2. The Ruggy, drug-rug inspired flannel shirt 3. The Reynolds Signature Alameda denim short.

Alpinestars: 1. HD2 Apocalypse Boardshort. 2. Harrier Walkshort. 3. Rogue Jean.

Analog: 1. Tank tops. 2. Shorter inseam shorts and trunks 3. Cuffed, lightweight chinos with cut and sew knits.

Broke: 1. King denim is certainly a highlight, it is a Kurabo Japanese Selvedge denim, with an amazing fit, wash and worn effect. 2. Lower price point, Pilot jacket in rip-stop. 3. Jungle microfibre short, a hybrid between a walk and bathing short.

Element: 1. European specific version of our premium Emerald Elite shoe series, featuring a clean-looking cup sole with detail stitch line. 2. Products created in collaboration with Element Emerald Advocate Thomas Campbell.

Globe: 1. Goodstock Chino. 2. Moonshine Tank. 3. Dana Pool Short.

KR3W: 1. K Slim Jean, Raw Blue. 2. CLASSIC, Lightweight, pigment dyed chinos. 3. Screamer Tank; a 40-singles tie-dye tank with micro rib detail. Super soft fabric.

 Makia: 1. Our new lightweight denim styles. 2. The upgraded pea coat. 3. Flight jacket made from linen that has been PU coated and garment washed.

Nikita: 1. Abelone Denim Jacket (available in sky blue & coal), a light and short denim jacket with checked lining, it’s the perfect summer jacket to throw over anything. 2. Beluga Jumpsuit, available in jet black & dusty cedar; super light jumpsuit in an extra thin shirt fabric. 3. Ray Swimsuit, features a print by Sandrine Pagnoux

RVCA: 1. Aldous corduroy jacket. 2. Skying shirt, Joey tee, Flo short.

VANS 1. Brand new denim AV78, raw selvedge, made in the USA from the A. Van Engelen Collection. 2. Reversible canvas Anorak from the California Collection. 3. The Washbrun backpack in the OTW Collection.