This Spring/Summer season, designers have combined the energy of warm summer vibes with social media aesthetics – bright colours, pastels, bold stripes, and ditsy florals.
First came the gentle rose-tinted Millennial Pink that got Instagram swooning. Then the eye-popping Gen Z Yellow, also known as “notice me yellow” synonymous of a bolder, braver, and transgressive youth, appearing in New York Fashion Week and taking cues from style-savvy celebrities’ music videos.
These colours were seemingly everywhere, but did they meet the demand of mass market consumers?
Selecting the right colors, in line with the brand’s DNA, and applying them to the right categories and styles for a specific customer group is no magic, yet it demands for a skillful blend of creative intuition and scientific, data-backed facts.
To understand which colours, as well as styles, made it from the runways to retail stores, and ultimately to shoppers’ closets, the main colour schemes showcased during the SS18 fashion weeks were matched against the colour stories launched by major e-retailers throughout SS18.
This report aggregates SKU data from 14 major e-retailers with over 1,000 fashion apparel brands globally, and drew focus on women’s tops, dresses, outerwear, and playsuits & jumpsuits.
Research segment of major e-retailers include ASOS, Zara, H&M, Forever 21, Topshop, River Island, Mango, Nasty Gal, NEXT, Dorothy Perkins, Zalora, FashionValet, Showpo and Shein.
Millions of data points were analysed over Jan-Jun 2018, with monthly movement analysis and quarterly comparisons.
The measure of a trend is attributed to the volume of newly-added colours with the highest mass market presence, coupled with data of sell-out frequency at full price and high replenishment rates.
Additionally, styles that did not work for a particular shade were also included in this report, by taking into account high and frequent discount rates, as well as its high ageing factor.Executive Summary
From the SS18 runways’ dominant colours, there were four distinct colour trends that have found their way to the retail stores, as shown here on the right:
Summery Brights
Majestic Regals
Pristine Whites
Soft Pastels
Each shade within a colour trend is illustrated in the order of new-in rate of its respective primary colour. For example, Strong Reddish Orange of Summery Brights palette has the highest percentage of newly added SKUs amongst all new shades of Orange (primary colour), while Brilliant Purplish Blue has the lowest new-in rate of all new shades of Blue.
Shades of red were commanding over the two biggest colour stories, namely Summery Brights and Majestic Regals, with pops of pink, yellow and bluish green evident across the colour trends.
Note: The colour names listed follow the technical names as defined in Omnilytics platform for the purpose of accurate analysis. Hence, the corresponding Pantone and HEX codes are provided for easy reference.
The identified key seasonal colours quickly gained momentum beginning February month to signal the start of Spring, except for Pristine Whites which were more a staple colour trend across assortments, hence maintaining a steady presence throughout Spring and Summer.
As Summer neared in May, strong colour palettes of Summery Brights and Majestic Regals spiked sharply, indicating bold assortments represented across the retailers.
Strong Yellow, in this season, matched the heights of other bold favourites as Brilliant Purplish Blue and Vivid Purplish Red in Summer, most believed to be inspired by the glorified hype of Gen Z Yellow as seen on the runways and on social media.
Or “Crayola Brights”, as quoted by Vogue; the primary colour palette that celebrates fashion’s power.
Crowd Favourites (high new-in rate, mostly at full price)
T-shirts and playsuits & jumpsuits grew by +60% among the best-selling new-ins.
Slow-Moving Styles (high ageing rate, high discount rate)
Midi dresses failed to attract this season.
Crowd Favourites (high new-in rate, mostly at full price)
Floral dresses, attuned to the season’s mood.
Slow-Moving Styles (high ageing rate, high discount rate)
Sweatshirts, hoodies and jumpers were not working this season.
Crowd Favourites (high new-in rate, mostly at full price)
One word, versatility; bestsellers included patterned or solid-coloured tops & dresses, slogan tees, and outerwear.
Slow-Moving Styles (high ageing rate, high discount rate)
Bodycon dresses were least prioritised among brands and were only out-of-stock at discounted prices
The zen summer colours.
Crowd Favourites (high new-in rate, mostly at full price)
Garden-inspired party floral dresses.
Slow-Moving Styles (high ageing rate, high discount rate)
Jacquard prints and slogan tees.
Crowd Favourites (high new-in rate, mostly at full price)
Denim dresses spiked +75% in Spring/Summer 2018.
Slow-Moving Styles (high ageing rate, high discount rate)
Solid-coloured dresses.
Crowd Favourites (high new-in rate, mostly at full price)
Lace dresses.
Slow-Moving Styles (high ageing rate, high discount rate)
Backburners: solid-coloured assortments.
