Our core focus at Trend Bible is on trends for the home environment, which often crosses over into toys, games and fashion products for Kids. This season we provided the trend directions for Bubble London trade show, and you can see below some pages from our Autumn/Winter 2011/12 Kids Lifestyle trend book which was published back in March 2010. Our Kids Trend Editor, Clare O’Reilly, visited Bubble London in January 2011 to report back on the key themes and monitor which trends could be evidenced at the show.
Enchanted Woods
Leafy, twisting botanicals mixed with Little Red Riding Hood and forest foragers in this mystical folkloric theme. Cotton knits, faux fur and shearling were mixed with graphic tees, tree prints and the obligatory owl motif!
Our Norwegian Wood trend story for Kids Lifestyle Trends, below, was influenced by Scandinavian folklore and fairytales. Key print motifs for fashion and home included stags, owls and spooky forests, all of which were seen in abundance at the Bubble show. The colour palette is made up of brooding darks like navy, midnight blues, purples and electric flashes of cerise and emerald green.
London Calling
Whether is was reference to rock or pop music or more traditional institutions like Routemaster busses, iconic London buildings like Big Ben or the good old red post box, British themed products were in abundance at Bubble London.
Ditsy Craft
Craft is big news in adult home interior trends, we think it’s renewed popularity is because consumers crave individual products with character, not the feeling that something has just dropped off the production line. Tactile products with charm and character have real commercial appeal for 2011 and beyond, so watch out for embroidery, cross-stitch, tapestry, pom poms and lace all being featured in kids home and fashion ranges.
Tutti Fruity
Watch out for apple, watermelon, pear and strawberry motifs featuring on clothing, footwear and accessories. On a similar note, we’ve noticed adults borrowing fun, simplistic motifs from children in an effort to escape the post-recession blues, so check out Prada’s banana earrings, below for a sunny spring uplift!
Dog Days
Dogs – now also available as a child’s best friend! Check out these fun placement and repeat prints we saw at Bubble London. We saw pugs, poodles, bulldogs and labradors, but love the idea of sausage dogs, beagles and basset hounds too!
Owls
As predicted in our A/W 2011/12 forecast, owls are big news as print motifs and character icons for the home and fashion. Applique, hand-crafted, knitted, crochet and collaged characters adorned tees, knits and accessories. “Although we’ve seen owls trending for Autumn 2010, we see this trend continuing for 2011 for kids clothing and home products. The important thing is to keep this look fresh with colour clashes and mismatched fabrics,” explains Clare O’Reilly, Trend Bible Kids Editor.
Great report! Thank you