Before the winter months officially take over, we pulled data from
Edited’s retail decision platform looking into women’s outerwear
trends. We analyze what factors currently make up a successful
outerwear assortment, including inspiration to take into the new year.
The Names
Rather than categorizing an item by the type of silhouette,
retailers like J.Crew are marketing styles through personal names,
like the Daphne coat. This strategy differentiates assortments across
retailers, giving the garment a unique identity within that brand.
Retailers will continue to leverage this approach come 2020. It
creates the opportunity for brand awareness and loyalty
season-after-season, with customers acknowledging their favorite coat
instead of another tweed topcoat that could be from any brand.
The Fabrics
It’s all about textures, regardless of shape. For the fluffy look,
Jigsaw and Monsoon are pushing plush faux fur and teddy coats, while
J.Crew have stuck with successful wool blended fabrics. It’s not only
in retail as faux fur made an impact on the Spring 2020 runway shows
too. A less dramatic texture, Ann Taylor advertised a sophisticated
faux suede moto jacket, emphasizing the durability of this fabric.
With an increasingly conscious consumer, alternatives to animal
products will soar – this is already playing out at retailers like
Zara, which increased assortments of faux leather by 36 percent, YoY.
However, with sustainability at the forefront of the apparel industry,
alternative fabrics that mimic leather and fur without the high
plastic content will grow in importance.
The Silhouettes
Raincoats are particularly popular at Chico’s increasing 250
percent YoY, while Talbots is offering four styles this year compared
to none last year. Both Loft and Anthropologie highlighted the classic
moto jacket in suede and faux leather. Puffer coats are up 10 percent
YoY influenced by a spike in arrivals from Talbots and Phase Eight by
23 percent and 60 percent, respectively.
Outerwear trends from the Spring 2020 runway season will carry
through to Fall 2020 collections as mass market retailers interpret
their own version of these silhouettes. For example, Massimo Dutti has
already adopted the leather trench coat, as seen at Junya Watanabe’s
Spring 2020 collection.
With its continued presence on the runway and increased investment
in retailers’ assortments, the puffer jacket will remain an essential
shape season-on-season.
The Colors
A staple color story across retailers, neutrals are favored color
story for trenches and wool blended layering pieces for a classic
look. In contrast, puffer coats are typically designed in bright and
neon colorways – fitting for the streetwear vibe.
Drawing inspiration from Jennifer Lopez’ iconic green dress from
the Spring 2020 Versace show, green will be next season’s color of
choice. Expect to see green span a variety of shades including soft,
earthy and jewel tones for textured styles and lime green for
technical fits.
The Patterns
Animal prints continue to remain in favor. However, this year
retailers like H&M broke away from the conventional leopard into cow
print. Overall these patterns are often applied to textured fabrics
like faux fur and teddy styles. Checks and plaids are typically saved
for the blazer silhouettes with core colors including grey, black,
white and brown.
Patterned outerwear made up16 percent of the total outerwear
offering YoY, proving it’s a valuable design choice moving forward. A
rise in diverse animal prints such as cow, zebra and jungle are
growing recognition in retail and on the runway. Additionally,
houndstooth will be the update to the classic check with
forward-thinking retailers like Zara already pushing the heritage
pattern.
This article was written for FashionUnited by Avery
Faigen, Retail Analyst at Edited. Edited is the leader and
industry-standard for real-time retail analytics, where the software
leverages artificial intelligence to track and reveal insights on
competitor product ranges, pricing, discounting and trends across the
global retail landscape. The software is used by buyers, planners and
trading teams to generate a huge competitive
advantage.
Images: J. Crew webshop (l); Zara webshop (r)
