Dive into the archives and try something daring, even futuristic: fashion is an eternal experiment. This logic drives the great designers at the head of prestigious fashion houses, as well as those at the heart of mainstream brands.
As you’ll have gathered from our passion for fashion, inspirations change and brands don’t hesitate to reinvent themselves. This is all the more true in 2024, when a number of brands are taking a 180-degree turn, and a number of designers aren’t hesitating to honour various alternative cultures.
The areas of inspiration are expanding, as are the targets, and this makes the current year a pivotal one for the fashion world. It’s the perfect opportunity to take a look at the actions that will undoubtedly shape brands over the coming months, or simply shake up trends.
Pharrell Williams takes it easy
It was a huge challenge for Pharrell to ‘take over’ the work of his friend, the late Virgil Abloh. The multi-faceted American designer’s first collection was a success, and what can we say about the one presented last January at Paris Fashion Week!
The collection is already memorable, and the western effect confirms the key trend for 2024. In a real show, Pharrell presented a revisit of traditional workwear. And when you consider how inspiring Louis Vuitton tends to be, there’s no doubt that 2024 will have a similar penchant.
Poker as an inspiration
As with streaming and eSports as a whole, the world of digital entertainment is now a place that counts, and one that intrinsically attracts designers and brands alike, as the commercial opportunities are so numerous. For a long time, poker was the home of comfortable but far from elegant outfits, where the baggy hoodie was the order of the day, but times are changing. This has been seen at a number of prestigious tournaments, such as the Paris EPT organised by the pioneering PokerStars platform, but above all in the games played and broadcast online!
It has to be said that, with the game becoming ever more democratic, everyone seems to be joining in the frenzy, or at least taking an interest in it. As a result, the caste of poker players has expanded to include people who appreciate fashion, and rightly so. Inspiration is still in its infancy, but when you consider the extent to which online poker has energised the digital world and unleashed the crowds in recent years, whether on classics or thanks to the resurgence of a variant like omaha poker, the future of fashion also seems to lie in this area.
There are plenty of new ideas on the horizon, and there’s no doubt that enthusiasts will appreciate the mix of originality, style and comfort. A real challenge for brands from all horizons.
Adidas at a crossroads
There’s only one step between sports equipment manufacturers and the world of haute couture. And there’s no doubt that adidas is the main instigator of this revival, and undoubtedly the leading brand when it comes to certain collaborations. Just think of Pharrell Williams, who has been an ambassador for the famous German brand for over 10 years now.
Recent collaborations between adidas and Moncler or with Prada have had a beneficial effect for all concerned. Above all, they have ushered in a new era in the world of fashion, encouraging all designers to expand their horizons.
But most of all, adidas excels in its sportswear creations stamped with cultural references made possible by rich archives or inspirations from renowned product managers in the fashion world. Recently, adidas launched the trend for football shirts designed to be worn in the street as well as on the pitch, and the various collections from its luxury Y-3 branch in collaboration with Real Madrid, the leading club in the adidas microcosm, are unleashing the passions of sports and fashion fans alike.
The latest example is the jersey that Belgium will be wearing at the Euro football championships. The country of Tintin will be highlighting a part of its cultural history, far from the classic, basic templates that have long kept sports equipment away from the world of fashion. From now on, the line will be almost non-existent.
Valentino changes direction
The Valentino era came to an end with the departure of its artistic director, Pierpaolo Piccioli, and after a few years of conformism, the brand seems to want to change course. In what is probably a dazzling fashion.
And for good reason, as already mentioned, Alessandro Michele has taken over the reins of the Italian brand founded in 1960. The Transalpine’s original, maximalist style did a world of good for a struggling Gucci brand before his arrival in 2015. Since then, the century-old brand has regained a prominent place on the luxury market, and Michele’s work will certainly have pleased Valentino’s CEO, who is himself keen to breathe new life into his company.
The work will be colossal, but Alessandro Michele seems to have the solid shoulders to relaunch a legendary Italian brand with a resolutely daring inspiration. There is every reason to believe that Valentino will no longer be an academic brand.
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