Summer Fashion Trends 2022
The distinction between casual and sophisticated collections is muddled by bleisure (business and pleasure) and day-to-night clothing. Although sales of sportswear are declining, outdoor features are present in all product categories.
Warning before you start all of the information comes out of the US and UK due to both of them being in the Northern hemisphere and having already had their summer.
Key conclusions
Retailers are switching out comfort-driven goods for party and occasion wear edits while maintaining similar amounts of clothing to S/S 21.
Dress volumes outpace top volumes: new-in apparel growth decreased (by 12%) in the UK and was steady (in the US) in 2017. As occasion wear returns, retailers change product categories by selling fewer tops and more dresses (up 5% to 25% in the UK and 3% to 23% in the US).
Comfort categories are declining: top and bottom separates are down YoY. New-in tops are down 4 ppt (UK) and 2 ppt despite having the largest share of the apparel mix (US). Knit bottoms exhibited high MDs compared to trousers, indicating a shift away from loungewear, while new-in bottoms are down 2ppt (UK) and 1ppt (US) from last year.
Party wear is making a comeback: New season suits and tailoring (+46% UK, +23% US) and dresses (+40% UK, +16% US) are the fastest-growing categories, with dresses increasing their proportion of the apparel mix.
Apparel volumes remain reduced: Clothing volumes are still low compared to last year, with smaller categories like outerwear (6% UK and US), jumpsuits (2% UK and US), suits and tailoring (1% UK & US), and sleepwear (2% UK & US) exhibiting minimal change in volume.
Colours
Colour trends are growing and permeating traditional blacks and blues.
Old brights: Green (+2ppt to 9% UK, +1ppt to 7% US), brown (+1ppt to 4% UK and US), and orange (+1ppt to 3% UK and US) all exhibited growth, with pink and purple seeing an increase in the UK. Continuing from our A/W 21/22 Buyers' Debrief, pink had a successful season last year as brights started to gain share in the colour mix.
Wedding white: One of the best-performing colours in apparel, with markdowns below average (62% vs 66% UK, 60% vs 64% US), with FP OOSs rising YoY, despite new-in whites declining across all regions (-1ppt to 10%). The wedding boom boosted sales and will continue to be important for S/S 23.
The neutral glam: Even though it made up just 1% of the collection, metallics performed better for S/S 22. (US). Bright metallics brighten store displays, but gold, silver, and bronze will also update glossed surfaces and layered sheers and be excellent for versatility and Let's Party themes.
Festival fashion
Crochet tops lead performance for festival season.
Crochet tops gain popularity on social: Social media users are becoming more interested in crochet tops as interest in the craft increased year over year and peaked in S/S 22. Crochet mentions on Google Trends and social media have increased steadily for 25 months, reaching a peak of +65% in June 2022.
Crochet set: to maintain the Craftcore style and encourage reusing an item, pair a matching skirt or shorts with popular crochet tops. Design Capsule Inspiring Young Women's Festival
Y2K-related fashion: Y2K themes recur frequently in social media searches of the festival. Coachella draws attention to Kidult and butterflies, while Primavera observes 00's Club Kid fashion
Dresses
Consumer demand for dresses returns, although high markdowns suggest a rebalance of styles.
Consumer demand for dresses begins to recover: Following a decline last year, reported purchases jumped by 5 percentage points to 23% (UK) and +1 percentage points to 16% (US) (US). Mass retailers (+66% UK, +17% US) and trend-led retailers (+37% UK, +21% US) saw the biggest increases in new-in volumes.
The trend will be hybrid dresses: Items like the bleisure dress and the beach-to-bar dress are investments with numerous uses as merchants adopt the "buy less" attitude.
Discounting and FP OOSs: Despite the fact that 50% of dresses in S/S 22 were discounted, a rise in FP OOS rates (+3ppt to 11% UK and +5ppt to 11% US) indicates that there is still demand. Limit your purchase of more of a single design and try on dresses from limited edition collections, as seen at Reserved and AllSaints.
Tops
Knit and jersey tops represent the second largest share of the apparel mix. Woven shirts increase share in the tops mix.
Jersey tops and T-shirts: UK YoY purchase for this category fell by 2 percentage points to 22%, while share within the mix of tops fell by 3 percentage points to 52%. Data in the US is consistent; the terms "crop" and "comfort," which can be used on reversible crop tops or on community T-shirts, are growing.
There is room for further volume reduction: considering volumes for cash-strapped customers embracing the "buy less" attitude post-pandemic, markdowns are rising (+3ppt to 53% UK and 51% US), and FP OOSs are dropping (-1ppt to 8% UK, stable at 6% US).
Shirts: Woven shirts continue to hold steady at 10% of the clothing mix while increasing their share of the tops mix by 4% (UK) and 2% (US) to 33% and 30%, respectively (US). Retailers are adjusting their volume between casual and sophisticated top types while focusing on the workday shirt's minor elements.
Skirts and shorts
Retailers pull back on discounting as skirt sales pick up.
Skirts: Skirt volumes climbed in the trend-driven market (+19% UK, +13% US) and premium market (+12% UK, +26% US), with "adaptable" and "comfort" skirts being two of the best-performing styles. Skirts have a rather consistent position in the apparel mix.
Shorts: Retailers boosted markdowns in S/S 22 over the clothing average (56% vs 53% UK, 53% vs 51% US), while new-in volumes are down in all areas. For The Great Outdoors and a new work-life balance, the adventure short will be crucial.
Skorts: Skorts are useful for modern living, exhibiting growth throughout Google Trends, hitting an all-time high in May 2022. They are in line with best-performing skirt styles (adaptable and comfortable), showing growth across Google Trends. For club house trends and the Active Court side tale, skorts will be essential.
Suiting and occasion wear
Retailers bring out more trousers for multi-purpose suit sets while dresses become the highlight of summer.
Trend-led retailers bring in more trousers: New-season trousers show a slight increase of 1 percentage point to 6% (UK), with trend-led shops accounting for the majority of the 27% increase. Both areas raised their percentage of the bottoms mix (+3ppt to 29% UK, +1ppt to 25% US), similarly to the US (uplift of 27%). Look for Business Casual pants that may be worn to work and for special occasions.
Dressier tops: With social events and special occasions returning for S/S 22, woven tops performed better, with discounting figures falling by 5 ppt (UK) and 4 ppt (US) to 51%. (US). Although dressier styles are on the rise, keep an eye on the balance between casual and smart trends because comfort is still in demand.
Social media: discussions regarding Party increased YoY for 11 of the previous 12 months, with the store market segment experiencing the highest growth (+67% YoY in June 2022). The halter midi capitalises on growth areas, and jewelled beading is a great substitute for sequins.
Denim
Consumer demand for jeans differs according to region, declining in the UK while uplifting in the US.
Sustainable properties: Retailers are paying attention to organic and recycled qualities, according to research. These materials are gradually rising YoY, as seen in the graph on the right, as merchants are urged to contribute to climate change targets.
UK merchants cut back on jeans even more: markdowns were above average in both countries, and FP OOSs fell by 4 points to 8% in the UK year over year as customers opted for a more durable, comfortable jean. Consider smart utility jean styles as a stylish and welcoming alternative.
The most price-protected items are denim jackets: whose markdowns are below average (49% vs. 53% UK, 47% vs. 51% US), thanks to the Y2K fad that made double denim popular.
Activewear
After a surge during and post pandemic, consumer purchasing dropped 2ppt in the UK and US.
UK and US differ in top volumes: Although activewear is stable in both the UK and the US at 4%, the UK discounts knit and jersey shirts with markdowns that are higher than average (57% vs. 53%). In contrast, markdowns in the US are lower than average (46% vs. 51%), as shops started prioritising volume over bestselling styles.
Back active leggings over shorts: Active bottoms increased internationally (+3 ppt UK, +1 ppt US), accounting for the largest percentage of the knit bottoms mix, while new-in shorts increased 1 ppt in both countries within the activewear mix. However, as customers favoured performance skorts and leggings, shorts became the item in the mix that was most heavily marked down, with significant markdowns of 57% in the UK and 53% in the US.
Performance and style: Include fresh looks under leggings, such as energetic flaring trouser shapes that develop into dressier hybrid looks.
Intimates and loungewear
Demand for home apparel dropped in S/S 22, as loungewear may have reached its peak last year.
Less options for intimates: There are fewer possibilities for intimates, despite markdowns increasing by 6 and 8 percentage points, respectively, in the UK and the US. As consumer demand declines, retailers should assess the amount of SKUs they carry.
Sleepwear: Retailers upped their sleepwear reductions in S/S 22, with markdowns rising year over year by 5 percentage points to 48% and 4 percentage points to 50%. (although still one of the most price-protected categories). Update your intimates wardrobe with soft, loose-fitting clothing.
Loungewear: Although demand has decreased, merchants should still develop loungewear collections alongside sleep or everyday necessities as year-round comfortable products. To bridge the gap between indoor and outdoor comfort, look to Supreme Comfort and Hyper Texture.
Jackets and outerwear
New-in volumes are stable YoY, but show growth within mass market brands (+34% UK, +16% US).
Both regions pull back on discounting: Markdowns drop compared to previous year, sitting below the apparel average (51% vs 53% UK, 48% vs 51% US), in line with The Great Outdoors. Both areas pull back on discounting.
Performance-related keywords: As can be seen in the graph to the right, outdoor and active-related keywords grow in popularity at the same time as the most popular jacket type for S/S 22 (the performance jacket), which may lead to the all-purpose jacket for S/S 23.
The decline of the shacket: Shackets are on the decline as consumers turn to functional jackets that are worthy of investment (+1 ppt in the UK & US). Shackets, which were once widely worn during the pandemic, had the worst sales in S/S 22 with markdowns of 61% (UK) and 63%. (US)
Well thats it for this years summer fashion trends, with all credits for the research going to WGSN,