A New Take on Fashion

Recently, Pantone has announced the 2019 Colour of the Year. This selection by Pantone sets in motion the colour trends for the entire year, influencing marketing campaigns, interior design, and clothing. In 2016, two colours were chosen; Serenity Blue and Rose Quartz, which are still impacting trends years later. In 2017, the chosen colour was Greenery, and for 2018-- Ultra Violet. Each colour is chosen with a purpose, to set a positive mindset going into the next year. The colour for the upcoming year was chosen to encourage affirmation, comfort, and playfulness. That being said, the 2019 Pantone Colour of the Year is “Living Coral”. Consumers can expect to see the coral hue popping up in fashion across the world. The colour is subtle yet can be worn as a bold pop, and looks stunning on every skin tone. Incorporating coral into everyday life is fairly simple; it can be paired with pastels, ocean hues, or dark shades to bring some interest into an outfit or home. Adding some throw p...

To the average person, the economy and fashion only seem to be slightly related. However, the state of the economy greatly impacts fashion at various levels. Hemlines are known to rise and fall with the economy. As the state of the economy worsens, trends often become more modest, and the opposite proves true as well. During the 1920s, the economy was booming, and for the first time in American fashion history, women wore clothing that showed off their arms and ankles. The average person was feeling more liberated, and was happy to show some skin. However, during the Great Depression, dresses were once again modest, and appendages were fully covered. Not only do silhouettes change with the economy, clothing materials and quality is altered as well. In the 1930s, as the economy was tanking to its lowest point in history, families were forced to make their own clothes out of flour sacks, and even adding their own prints with whatever materials they could find. Designer clothing was onl...

While the worlds of politics and fashion may seem light years apart, in reality they are much more related than they initially appear. Some connections between fashion and politics are more obvious. For example, new tariffs being imposed on goods imported from other countries, such as China and Thailand, make it more difficult to create inexpensive clothing from outsourced manufacturers. This, in turn, is killing fast fashion as well as many big box companies. Even smaller startup companies are suffering as fabric prices and manufacturing costs continue to increase. However, politics impacts fashion and trends in ways that few have noticed. Trends in the fashion industry often mimic trends from eras that had similar political climates. Today, it seems as though civil and human rights movements are more prevalent than ever, reflecting the zeitgeist of the 1960s.   Modern trends, such as high waisted bottoms, cropped pants, and miniskirts, were also very popular fifty years ago. Ho...