The need for joy, positivity and celebration has never been more important for kidswear.
Neutral shades, rustic indigo and calming lilac come to the fore for kids and tweens colour and print trends for 2022/23.
Print and pattern narratives include picnic checks, tie-dye, abstract shapes, novelty knits and upcycled old stock and handcrafted detail.
With sustainability high on consumers’ agenda, colour innovations make an impact, bringing botanical neutrals to the fore.
Plant-based tones such as pink clay and Rabbit’s Paw, which highlight the importance of a more sustainable, seasonless and gender-inclusive approach to colour.
Colour trends for kidswear
Neutrals
Timeless and seasonless colours offer a commercial win in the post-pandemic market.
The impact of neutrals cannot be underestimated, Pink Clay and Rabbit’s Paw pantones speak to a more sustainable outlook on colour, with retail data showing neutral shades as one of only a few increasing colours across kids’ apparel.
Brands such as LA-based Fear of God and Pangaia influence the mass market.
Rustic indigo
With workwear themes developing alongside a crafted aesthetic, denim-inspired blues emerge for Spring-Summer 22. Authentic, artisanal shades of blue resonate with consumers looking for trans-seasonality themes.
With indigo dye also relevant across men’s and womenswear, rustic blues offer a gender-inclusive approach that extends to lifestyle products and family dressing.
Update commercial basics such as tees and sweatshirts with Spring-Summer 22 key colour Atlantic Blue, focusing on sustainable cotton, linen and hemp.
Contact Digital Fabric Solutions for our range of 100% natural fabrics ready for reactive digital printing on cellulose fabrics.
Fiery orange
The popularity of warm browns in Autumn-Winter 21/22 evolves for high summer, with Fiery Orange providing a joyful burst of colour to enhance the neutral foundational palette.
This key shade offers a mood-boosting sense of optimism and comfort during challenging times.
Use the bold tone of orange for a striking head-to-toe look, tapping into the Spring-Summer 22 Kids’ Connected Forecast, where themes of comfort dressing continue to drive development.
Influencers to follow include Korean brand Jelly Mallow that offers matching separates in monotone Fiery Orange, while UK-based Bonnie & the Gang adopts beach-ready cotton terry for a comfort-led take on the trend.
Digital Fabric Solutions has an unmatched vibrancy of print and colour in the digital industry to set off these fiery colour trends.
Green
Shades of green continue to be important in multiple tones of this trans-seasonal and gender-inclusive colour.
While olive and khaki remain perennial summer favourites, new green tones are emerging as directional colours. In the Spring-Summer 22 Global Colour Forecast, green remains influential due to its association with nature, with Olive Oil standing out as a commercial must-have.
Dark Springs updates core swim and high-summer basics, championed by Hong Kong brand Joe Sun.
A natural palette design will offer a calming and therapeutic mood. Brands such as Little Hedonist offer gender-inclusive matching sets in rich Dark Springs as inspiration.
Digital Fabric Solutions has the industry knowledge and expertise to guide you through your textile printing experience.
Purple
Restorative tones of purple resonate with consumers, as calming hues prove popular in the post-Covid-19 market.
Reflecting the growing focus on gender-inclusive and trans-seasonal dressing, the commercial success of purple is set to continue into 2023, highlighted by the colour of the year, Digital Lavender.
This year purple is more popular in the United Kingdom and the United States, compared to 2019 pre-pandemic.
With comfort-led styling still high on the agenda, soothing purples are set to continue to impact the market and remain key through 2023.
Doubling down on the comfort factor, focus on home hub sweatsuits, with colour blocking in multiple shades of purple.
Research the “slounge” trend. Etnia Kids and London-based Wynken are brands embracing this trend.
Digital Fabric Solutions boasts the largest digital printer in Africa and is undoubtedly a great starting point for your upcoming kidswear collection.
Print trends for kids and teens clothing
Soft shapes
The joyful expression theme continues to drive kidswear, with Autumn-Winter 21/22 evolves Art Class Shapes story evolving for Spring-Summer 22 with soft shapes that encapsulate colour blocking and doodle graphics.
Echoing the Spring-Summer 22 Kid’s Prints & Graphics Forecast: Euphoric, abstract prints show the most dramatic new-in growth across prints, with boys’ and girls’ showing consistent increases each year since 2019 across all apparel categories.
Expressive patterns offer a sense of escape and an uplifting mood that resonates with consumers coming out of lockdown.
Influencers include Argentinian Cacu Guau and Korean Jelly Mallow both embracing the trend for soft abstract shapes with all-over prints in primary colours.
British premium brand Main Story takes an elevated approach with placement graphics using a creative collage.
Ditsy florals
Floral prints are a perennial favourite for girls wear and for Spring-Summer 22, we see the continued success of traditional Ditsy and Liberty floral prints bolstered by the consumer desire for nostalgia.
With Cottage Core looks gaining traction and consumer interest in nostalgic styling still strong, ditsy floral prints show no sign of declining in popularity.
Swimwear is also a standout category, with influencer brands Mabo and Olivier both adopting ditsy floral prints for their swim collections.
Taking the lead from influential Korean brand Lilly Billy that embraces ditsy florals from head-to-toe for both boys and girls.
Focusing on basic silhouettes, it offers matching sets in lightweight cotton with boxy, minimalist fits to provide gender-inclusive appeal and extended wear.
Picnic plaids
An evolution of Autumn-Winter 21/22’s Rustic Plaid, this summer iteration nods to the mainstream adoption of cottage core in kidswear.
Having filtered down from womenswear, the cottage core trend is a mainstay within kids’ apparel, with plaids offering a commercial win.
Latest trends for girls’ apparel and sees checks/plaids more popular since 2019. Shorts show the most consistent increase in new-in plaids between 2019 and 2021.
Tapping into trans-seasonal and timeless themes, these nostalgic plaids present the opportunity to be layered and worn all year round, promoting extended wear.
Spanish brand The New Society uses rustic picnic plaids for its Spring-Summer 20/21 collection. Focusing on neutral tones and gender-inclusive check patterns, the designs have timeless appeal.
UK-based Apolina draws inspiration from the 1950s, blending hand embroideries with checked cotton fabrics for an artisanal make do and mend aesthetic.
Bold checks
Layered and oversized checks tap into our joyful expression trend, as cheerful colours and exaggerated scales update perennial plaid prints with a maximalist aesthetic.
Perennially popular check prints will be layered for Spring-Summer 22/23; the brighter, the better.
Bold tones of Red Glow stand out at Japanese brand Merci Campa and reflect the Spring-Summer 22/23 Euphoric Forecast, where joyful colours and retro prints offer comfort and positive energy.
Look to Chopova Lowena’s recent kidswear collection for a rebooted version of traditional plaid prints.
Juxtaposed colours and varying scales create a dead stock design look that emanates optimism.
Apparel trends show that the plaids are up since 2019 pre-pandemic merchandising trends.
Adopt a more sustainable approach by using deadstock materials to embody a considered craft aesthetic. Use offcuts to produce strong merchandising stories with add-on accessories such as pouches and hairbands.
Tie-dye
In line with our Spring-Summer 22 Design Trends, Tie-dye techniques are a commercial must-have to evolve popular core basics.
Linking back to our Spring/Summer 22 Kid’s Prints & Graphics Forecast Euphoric, tie-dye prints in mood-boosting bright colours create a sense of joy that is resonating with consumers.
Influencers include Korean brand Lucky Try exemplifies the Future Peacenik look, championing oversized boxy tees dyed with nature-inspired-bright tie-dye prints.
Accessories for Kids and Tweens
Test or invest brands cut back on waste with matching accessories that tie back to apparel, in cottage core prints such as checks and florals.
The sustainable sneaker continues to gain traction as a must-have item, as brands invest in eco-materials and less harmful practices. Handcrafted looks inspire footwear and accessories for kids and tweens.
Conclusion
Sustainability and trans-seasonal longevity remain the focus, as naturally derived neutrals and natural inspired mineral tones surge in importance.
Perennially popular checks bolster cottage core looks and artisanal dye techniques influence the evolution of tie-dye.
- Digital Fabric Solutions has a range of cellulose 100% natural fabric bases to set off the new kidswear and teens look for Spring-Summer 22/23. We can courier samples to you to take a closer look.
