by MIKE CHAIKEN
CTFashionMag.com
Comfort will be a key selling point in women’s clothing in the post-pandemic future, according to fashion experts.
In a webinar held May 24 by Fashion Snoops and Eurovet, fashion industry representatives were told consumers will be keying in on comfort in the post-COVID-19 fall/ winter 2021-22 season.
PHOTO by MIKE CHAIKEN
Patricia Meade of Fashion Snoops, which tracks trends and data for the fashion industry, said, “We are experiencing a moment of anxiety and uncertainty.”
In this “post-apocalyptic atmosphere,” Fashion Snoops’ Lily Berelovich said, consumers are seeking comfort.
Consumers aren’t just seeking physical comfort, but psychological comfort, said Kirsten Griffin of Eurovet, which organizes trade shows for the women’s intimate, sleepwear and loungewear industries. Retailers said consumers want to wear what makes them feel good, and stores should step back and let consumers figure out what they want to wear.
“Consumers are craving basic essentials and are steering away from excessiveness,” said Meade.
Women are looking for casual loungewear that they can wear in the house as well as when they leave go out, said Meade.
“It’s acceptable to stay in pajamas and loungewear all day,” said Griffin.
There is a desire for clothing with less structure, said Griffin. In the northeast, which was particularly hard hit by COVID-19, she said retailers are selling more pajamas, bralettes and loungewear than they had ever done in previous season.
Women also are looking for clothing that offers utility, such as what they would find with active wear, said Meade.
In the wake of COVID-19, where many Americans were laid off or told to work from home, Meade said people have embraced the break. That push to be “always being connected and on the run is beginning to fade.”
Griffin said the trend for 2021-22 will be more inclusive fashion that embraces different body shapes, different phases of a woman’s life (such as maternity wear and post-mastectomy garments) and different skin tones.
“This didn’t really exist until recently,” said Griffin.
The color palette for these comfortable garments in 2021-22 is “like walking through a familiar territory where things seem to be different than what you remember,” said Berelovich. “Browns and red casts are what drives the palette forward…. Then there is the promise of new life with unexpected pastels that have a smoky effect.”