Last week I was in Salt Lake City for a tradeshow called Outdoor Retailer. This is a very large tradeshow where brands from the outdoor industry present their new products. It occurs twice a year and is an impressive show to attend and preview what’s new in apparel, bags & accessories, footwear, hats, hosiery, skis.. Really, ANY kind of outdoor gear or product.
I love attending this show. When I have a break, I wander the aisles and examine the new techy fabrics and trim details on the clothing, footwear and bags.. Yes, I am a nerd. While Outdoor Retailer isn’t fashion week, it is a unique mashup of where granola meets fashion, form and function. For a girl who studied fashion design and is addicted to sewing and creating new things – this is an awesome experience.
While walking the show, I had an interesting thought about approaching my sewing with a new, sportier angle. I was inspired to start trying outdoor driven fabrics, trim and colors in my projects. I usually work with natural fabrics and soft cottons. However, with a baby/toddler now in our house – there is a need for durable fabrics. And babies also like unique textures. I just realized all the baby items that can be made with ripstop, different kinds of mesh, neoprene, webbing..
So, I compiled a list of the items that I saw and inspired me.
Color Trends:
- Purple and Fuchsia!! There was a lot of purple at the show. This combo was everywhere for fall 2013: purple, black and fluorescent green/yellow
- Greys – Grey combinations with blue and/or orange or greys in a tonal scheme
- Green on green – Tonal and earthy
- Color pops in linings – Charcoal with bright purple lining.. love this!
Fabric trends:
- Ripstop, mesh, quilted synthetic materials – I can’t wait to start sewing with rip-stop and mesh.
- Mixing and matching of fabrics – Unique combinations found in apparel and bags. One brand had beautiful jackets mixing techy fabrics and quilted cottons
Trim trends:
- Color pops – bright, BOLD zippers, buttons and velcro. I always thought velcro as kind of ugly and something to hide.. but now I’m thinking of highlighting a bold velcro in an upcoming project!
- Colorful top stitching, shoe laces and straps
- Metallics, flourescents and reflective webbing
Some color pics from the show:
GO get some ripstop and colorful zippers and get sewing!
What is a rip stop and mesh??