Western wear, the coquette aesthetic in abundant pink, Y2K pieces and knit polo tees. These are a few of the fashion trends to expect to see this spring.
In a college town, boutique owners learn to tailor to their market, and fashion merchandising students learn through courses and clubs the ins and outs of the fashion industry. Katie Jacobs, the owner of Cheeky Peach, said that as a business owner she does a lot of trend forecasting, especially interpreting what the trends will be for the store’s customers.
“I think Athens is a town that’s very fashion forward and where our customers really embrace new trends,” Jacobs said.
This sentiment is shared by Ryder Chosewood, the owner of Kempt, a men’s clothing store on North Lumpkin St. Chosewood said that before bringing items into his store, he and his employers must decide on the items the market will be interested in.
Chosewood, a University of Georgia alum, said he attends a trade show every six months in Chicago and gets an idea of the styles and looks that are going to be for an upcoming season. It’s helpful to see these indicators, but Chosewood said he thinks menswear trendsetting goes beyond trade shows.
“Menswear, at least as much as women but maybe more than women, is like a bottom-up trend setting, meaning street style and what day-to-day guys are wearing or influencers, almost influence the brands rather than the other way around,” Chosewood said.
Chosewood said that his most popular item right now is a short-sleeve knit button down. This is due to what he thinks is a movement away from making statements with bold colors and prints towards clothing with a unique cut or texture. He also said that pants-wise, men have been more interested in a relaxed fit, and many men are more interested in wearing jewelry.
As far as some other trends, Camille Isom, a senior public relations and fashion merchandising student, said she has seen a lot of Y2K items, including sunglasses that resemble those she wore when she was a young girl in the 2000s. Additionally, she noted that as ballet and Pilates become more popular, people wear more athleisure types of clothing regularly.
Isom is the president of UGA’s Student Merchandising Association, which provides students with opportunities to grow various skills needed to obtain a career in the fashion industry. The organization recently held its “’Dazzling Lies and Deceptive Looks”’ fashion show on April 10 last Wednesday, which was influenced by 60s fashion.
“We go through trends and then we create themes off of it and incorporate it into our projects that we do,” Isom said.
Anna Cox, junior fashion merchandising with a general business student minor focusing on brand management at UGA, works at Heery’s Clothes Closet located on College Avenue. She is exposed to growing trends and styles as new products hit the floor.
Cox and Chosewood both mentioned the popularity of western wear, specifically with influence from the music industry. Chosewood said many non-country artists are making country albums. Cox mentioned the specific influence of Beyoncé and her new album “Cowboy Carter.”
One of Cox’s current favorite trends is maximalism – a trend that Vogue magazine described in an article as lots of color, painterly prints, rich textures and more..
“I am a firm believer that people are starting to love their clothes so much that they really don’t care [about the traditional rules of fashion],” Cox said. “They’re like ‘Goodbye to the rules, we want to wear what feels good on our body and we want to wear what makes us feel like us.’”
Jacobs noted how fashion trends may be easily “packaged” on social media, and customers may have the option to buy and wear clothing that fits a certain mold. She encourages people, though, to explore fashion on their own terms.
“I think it’s really important to not just go after a trend, but look at your closet, look at the things you wear, look at the things you love, and try to build a collection based on your own personal tastes,” Jacobs said.
Cox shared that she is currently reading “Clothes… and Other Things That Matter” by Alexandra Shulman, the previous Editor-in-Chief of British Vogue. The book focuses on the purpose of clothing in our everyday lives.
“One thing that I’ve realized a lot is I use my clothing to say something about myself,” Cox said. “It’s like you’re trying to tell somebody something about yourself by the way you dress and by the way that you carry yourself.”
