Kids’ fashion trends for 2024 (Spring/Summer 2024, or S/S 24) are about celebrating the joy and expressive nature of items that have a purpose – whether through community or being resourceful.
The design direction for kids fashion trends in 2024 is focused on the popular theme known as Creative Reset. It embraces the fun and ingenuity that comes from lateral thinking and questioning the status quo.
As the world grapples with momentous change, Creative Confidence seeks to redefine our relationship with established ideas and structures, championing the lateral over the literal and the purposeful over the superfluous.
This will emerge in numerous ways:
- an enthusiasm for DIY and DIYW (do it your way)
- uptake of radical recycling and resourcefulness, with everything ripe for creative repair and reuse
- an exploration of more precise personalisation and on-demand production for a waste-free future
- the reinvention of better basics at all levels, whether through material, colour, or construction
A mix of eras and subcultures will be influential. But these will be remixed in a contemporary way. This direction celebrates creative freedom, but not creative excess.
The underlying message is . . .
design for design’s sake is not enough anymore. There has to be a good reason for things to exist.
Kidswear trends 2024: Colours and looks forecast for S/S 24
S/S 24 Colour Forecast
Expressive brights team with preppy neutrals and soft pastels for a dynamic palette. Hues such as Galactic Cobalt, Crimson and Malachite add a familiar collegiate look while Pink Cyclamen, Sweet Mandarin and Cyber Lime bring vibrant energy.
Top tip: ground them with tinted neutrals such as Elemental Blue and Italian Clay
Joyful Punk
The ongoing appetite for Pop Punk trends continues to inspire the kids and tween markets with a lighter and more joyful approach for S/S 24.
Silhouette and styling, which include oversized baggy jeans, will be an important fashion shape as the Super Wide Pant gains popularity among Gen-Z.
Pearls have been on the rise and will inspire a range of accessories for kids, adding an elegant look to sunglasses chains, purses and belts.
Playful Swiggles
This trend expands on the squiggles and wiggles trend. Detail on garments include ruching and gathers replacing flat renditions, using less material yet making a strong impact.
Scallop Edge designs are redefined by overlapped features and silhouettes focused on uneven cuts and off-kilter proportions.
Gris, from Japan, is an influential brand using this trend. It focuses on melting design elements that suit the soft mood of this trend through a range of silhouettes in ice-cream hues.
Nikolli, a brand from Georgia, uses scallops via layering with colour-blocking to add impact to its designs.
The playful swiggles trend works well on dresses, separates, lightweight outerwear, tees, soft accessories, sleepwear and swimwear.
Acid Retro
The 70s and 80s themes still inspire kidswear, as acid hues refresh this mainstay for S/S 24. Colours for the Acid Retro trend for S/S 24 Colour Forecast show how Cyber Lime and Sweet Mandarin can add an uplifting, futuristic spin to retro palettes.
Warm neutrals of Terracotta, Italian Clay and Nutshell add depth and richness. Acidic hues reflect the rise of digital influences. Materials include trims, recycled cotton and natural linen.
Top tip: Source end-of-line or deadstock trims for mixed-media looks and choose upcycled or recycled trims for tactile surfaces.
Sport
This story is inspired by the success of sportswear collaborations with fashion houses, offering a smartened-up hybrid direction for kids.
A mix of smart tailoring and comfort informs modern New Prep classics made to last. Remove unnecessary details and trims, tying into Future Innovations 2024 theme ‘Subtraction Adds Value’.
Silhouette and material include items that have collegiate undertones and can be layered. The knitted vest and track jacket and matching set, for example, get a contemporary update.
Technical materials that offer features such as UV protection and wrinkle resistance add value for easy packing. Rib knits are a slinky, more sophisticated take on core separates.
This trend is relevant for outerwear, matching sets, separates, activewear, footwear, soft accessories and knitwear.
Art Clash
This lends itself to the ‘Express Yourself’ trend with an over-the-top crafted aesthetic.
DIY designs are explored with circularity in mind for an upbeat gender-inclusive assortment.
Use deadstock fabric to achieve a crafted and more responsible take on this trend, with updates to core basics such as the jersey tee, sweatshirt or resort shirt.
Add a combination of repurposed materials such as printed offcuts, Statement Crochet and beads that will add value.
Key brands such as Japan’s Tago uses painterly graphics, crochet and oversized patches for an updated take on handcrafted design.
Spain-based Maison Mangostan honours traditional craft via light-hearted footwear and accessories, nailing the expressive craft aesthetic.
Evocative, hand-painted designs are the core of Danish brand Helmstedt’s offer, with playful capsules that speak to the youth market.
Resort Racer
This concept hones in on the bold attitude of racing and the relaxation of a holiday coming together to create a resort narrative. This is explored by influential kidswear brands such as the Japan-based The Park Shop and the New York label Tia Cibani.
Top tip: Biker references are gaining traction, as noted for men and women in the developing Racer Revival stories.
Prints and graphics include checkerboard prints revived with a tropical twist for S/S 24, set against dreamy sunsets and vacation scenes.
Team them with racer stripes and retro racing graphics from the 1980s and 90s in vibrant hues such as Adriatic Sea, Pink Flash and Pineapple.
Keep fabrics value-driven with properties such as UV protection and quick-dry features suitable for volatile weather patterns as well as surf-to-sand.
This trend looks good on graphic tees, swim, active, lightweight jackets and soft accessories.
Creative Chaos
As an ideal antidote to toxic positivity, this trend prioritises expression over perfection.
The story ties back to an important trend for 2024 called Code-Breaking, where the creative exploration of one’s self is led through intention and discovery with a DIYW (do it your way) mindset.
Inspiration comes from art. Works in the Jean-Michel Basquiat “King Pleasure exhibit” in New York fit this trend.
The energy of the collaboration by Australia’s Romance Was Born and artist Ken Done is the perfect vibe, all while touching on sustainability through refurbished vintage pieces for its 2023 resort collection.
When it comes to prints and graphics the messier the better. Anchor this story via a range of mark-making and free-flowing brush strokes in statement colour combinations.
This is relevant to both products and the people who wear them. There’s a move away from toxic positivity and a striving to resist perfectionism.
This mood can be integrated into slogans and motifs that promote compassion and understanding as well as light-hearted and rebellious trends that make way for good.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the trend for kidswear S/S24 embraces the fun and ingenuity that come from lateral thinking and questioning the status quo.
- Check out the trends for 2023
- Check out more fashion fabrics or contact us for more information on fabric choices for your next project
