Womenswear

SMOOTH INDUSTRIAL is a meditation on imperfection, melding handmade and industrial elements. Functionality, chicness and sportiness are the three keywords for this trend with looks featuring open seams, hand-sewn hemlines or breast pockets and fly fronts. Individual pieces that look casually thrown together in gentle color schemes create visual harmony. Warm-tone pastels with chalky, bleached effects glow with accents in eucalyptus, turquoise and tertiary colors such as chartreuse. Smooth and sweeping silhouettes and a soft feel are of particular importance as a counterpoint to textured surfaces and to break up the industrial look. Flecked flannel, tweed, gabardine and block patterns in contrasting colors capture the essence of this trend perfectly.

GROWING COUNTRY is informed by both nature and innovation. Natural colors, finishes and textures exude a sense of roughness. The interplay between these qualities and innovative fabrication techniques and comfort creates an interesting tension. New silhouettes and voluminous proportions breathe new life into traditional materials such as tweed, bouclé or chenille. Intense allover prints in bold earth tones, organic textures and shimmering metallic hues—bronze and brass surfaces are particular favorites—are combined to create distinctive individual looks.

NIGHT SHADES is a poetic and mysterious fashion trend with deep and atmospheric dark hues that exude an enticing radiance. This dramatic aura comes across in sculptural textures and matte, gloss or shiny finishes and patterns. This trend finds expression across the full spectrum of fashion, from sporty and casual to formal and glamorous. This fashion dynamic demands cool, sensuous, modern accessories in terms of material, form and color in a wide range of finishes. A graphic design vocabulary is influenced by neo-Victorian effects. The trend is defined by jet black, velvety surfaces and facetted forms in glass and metal. Matt/gloss and rough/smooth contrasts are a must.

NEW OPULENCE – a fusion of the past, present and future as interpreted in fashion. A combination of classics and décor with a new, optimistic twist achieves an elegant balance between minimalism and maximalism. A timeless sense of modernity is key here. Glamorous references to the seventies play up a sense of sophistication. Luxurious cashmere, high-quality woolen coat fabrics, three-dimensional textures, velvet, jacquard, cloqué and shimmering metallic surfaces play up the opulence of this look. Pastels, mink and bold billiard green and warm red tones are juxtaposed or used tone-on-tone. The voguish balance of this trend is underscored by accessories that feature sleek as well as opulent designs with bold textures.

Menswear collection: The sky’s the limit!

Flexible accessorizing solutions are key to coherent looks when navigating the current diversity of silhouettes as well as the seemingly endless ways of combining pieces in terms of styling. When it comes to creating new and exciting looks, the departure from fashion conventions in favor of an aesthetic informed by design is irreversible. Union Knopf’s impressively diverse is a response to this challenge. These trends are reflected in each material for all fashion segments in a wide variety of interpretations.

 1. The Explorer

Clarity, tradition, rationality and subtle sportswear influences all play a role in this trend. This sophisticated take on straightforward, no-frills design in unexpected styling combinations makes for new and exciting looks.

This trend makes a decidedly luxurious impression in warm hues and rough and textured surfaces. Fine leather snap buttons or genuine horn snap buttons are must-haves for high-end leather sportswear. Opulent tweeds paired with sophisticated imitation mother-of-pearl buttons make for a particularly rich contrast. Quality stay buttons provide delightful accents. New and innovative color gradations in vegetable ivory buttons also drawn on this trend.

Sportswear accents mix things up in the traditional core of menswear. The skater generation, having now reached adulthood, is a key source of inspiration. Their demand for high-quality materials and styling has grown.

 2. The Playwright

This trend plays on creativity and expressiveness in a range of dark hues to generate a dramatic atmosphere with dandy affectations. This trend is built on new interpretations to suit modern lifestyles as well as the convergence of gender-specific fashion conventions.

Sophisticated necktie patterns, web jacquards in dark hues as well as deep purple and plum tones are essential for this modern, neo-dandy look. Newly-developed materials in imitation mother-of-pearl for dress shirts capture the essence of this trend. The piercing multicolor shimmer effect provides for an eye-catching accent in a range of colors.

3. The Confident

Generation Y is the buzzword here. These looks reinterpret defining influences from a broad variety of scenes and lifestyles—from Britpop to grunge to skate punk. An ironic nod is given to the rebellious leanings of these movements in this trend, which is all about celebrating the freedom to combine and redefine styles in new and unexpected ways.

The youth casual and sportswear segment is defined by calm colors, functionality and innovative materials. New styling combinations, prints and patterns lend a modern, individual twist to these looks. Restrained yet innovative trims and accessories, such as leather cord stoppers, etched horn buttons or metal snap buttons with a variety of uses, underscore the wealth of styling options.

 4. The Adventure

The term recrafted nature encapsulates the modern connection between nature and innovation. It’s all about breaking away from familiar ways of thinking, adventurous fusions and ultimately the chance to expand the horizons of fashion. The sense of urban adventure is fed by casual military influences, camouflage-like effects to strange textures or patches as well as faded looks. The tone-on-tone color pallette for sportswear, ranging from khaki to brown, is complemented by new metal snap buttons, zipper tabs in aged brass as well as small decorative plaques. The tonality of the fabrics is further emphasized by accessories in matching plain colors. Buttons in a new imitation stone material lend dress shirts an urbane natural touch.