Li Edelkoort on fashion post-corona: “The blank page starts in SS22”

The world yearns for perspective, for a glimpse of what is to come in a
post-corona world. Live from Normandy, trend forecaster Lidewij Edelkoort
shared her vision on the Spring/Summer 2022 season during an Appletizer
webinar. On the screen appears a happy Edelkoort who looks toward the
future, enjoys the break the world is in and is excited about the blank
page which will follow after.
FashionUnited shares some insights from its trend forecast ‘Blank Page’.

To start on a positive note: Edelkoort believes that the summer of 2022
will be corona-free, or at least very close to freedom. SS22 is the moment
that a new chapter will start, according to Edelkoort, and one has to think
about that chapter right now. The title of her forecast ‘Blank Page’ refers
to her source of inspiration, paper, but also to the new start. A paper on
which to sketch how things can and should be done differently. “We are
looking at our goal again, how are we going to fulfill it?” Edelkoort got
the idea for her forecast last November, even before the pandemic, but in
any case, the forecaster always has a good sense of the time. She was
already busy collecting sources of inspiration and took a pile of paper
with her to South Africa last February where she eventually stayed for four
months because she could not leave the country. In South Africa she found
the time to think about the theme she presented during the webinar.

Fashion in SS22: “Basic collection is the spine of a brand and is
supplemented with ‘puffs of pleasure'”

The webinar is full of examples from paper. Robust paper, cardboard,
wrapping paper, crepe paper: it goes in all directions. As one might
expect, the colors white and beige predominate in the forecast – something
that continues from her forecast of FW 21/22. Edelkoort knows how to
translate the various forms of paper into fabrics. For example, origami
becomes pleated blinds, crumpled paper becomes flounces, the structure of
paper becomes wool or jacquard. How the trend forecaster manages to attach
its prediction to a theme each season and makes each reference seem logical
remains an art. Although the majority of the color palette is white to
sandy, there are also color stories that are more like pastel shades or a
brightly colored palette in which Edelkoort has taken the example of
colorful and festive crepe paper.

In addition to all references to paper, Edelkoort makes a few other
remarkable statements. First of all, she believes in the future of the
monoproduct. She expects brands that focus on one product and perfect it to
do well. Stores that focus on one type of item are also the future. In
addition, in the prediction an item emerges as the item of SS22. The
highwaisted, wide-legged, white denim. The denim is also stiff, Edelkoort
explains, how denim used to be when the wearer still had to really shape a
pair of trousers to his or her body. “This will be the basis of tomorrow.
This silhouette also has an immediate impact on everything else around it,
because the high waist makes the tops shorter, for example, ”explains the
trend forecaster.

Edelkoort expects two movements to take place in the summer of 2022. The
basis of the fashion world is a mix of activewear with fashion. This type
of clothing is used in everyday life and everything around it. She
describes the fashion system as a skeleton: “The basic collection is like
the spine”. On top of the basic collection is a layer of very distinct,
cheerful and visually interesting clothing to use to celebrate life.
“Attached to the skeleton are little oomphs of pleasure,” says Edelkoort.
“The basic collection becomes the brand’s basic income and the pieces of
pleasure are a splurge for the customer as well as for the designer.” Fun
and celebration of life will be a great need in the summer of 2022, all we
can hope is that Edelkoort’s prediction is a self fulfilling prophecy, so
that the summer of 2022 is indeed corona-free and is all about celebrating
life.

This article was originally published on FashionUnited.NL, translated and edited to English by Kelly Press.

Main image: Maison Margiela Couture, AW17, via Catwalkpictures.com

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