When did you start conceiving the idea for the FRAGMENTED inspiration?For every season of the inspirations, I’m looking at least for one of the themes to be sports/active wear oriented, a dynamic palette, where the brightest colors of the season will be presented. The color palette “Fragmented” fills this role in the FW 14/15 inspirations.

I discovered that many designers are starting to look back at Cubism and abstract art. After a little research to refresh my memory on Cubism, I discovered a broad theme with the possibilities of endless new designs, prints and colors. This excited me and put me on the right track for this season’s inspiration.

It’s interesting and current to think about simple line forms and basic geometric shapes, combined at the same time with splashes of bright color. It’s a theme that includes the idea of the new technology in the modern world, something that we are surrounded by and unavoidably becomes part of our everyday activities.

“perspective with a single viewpoint was abandoned and

use was made of simple geometric shapes, interlocking planes, and later, collage”...

CubismCubismCubism

You use this theme with these colors in your Fall 14/15 season with intensions of carrying it over into Spring 15. Looking at the runways now, we see this theme a lot, so are you excited that you predicted this theme before it was on the runways?

Yes, the most exciting and probably the most fun part about forecasting is when you can actually forecast what will be interesting and new in the future trends for consumers. It is great to find out trend companies and designers confirming the theme, and even more exciting to find the theme and the colors in the stores and see people wearing it. Of course, nothing is really new, but everything comes in cycles, and at this time, the theme that we are presenting in “Fragmented” is probably one of the most interesting themes that we’ll see in the apparel market.

THE RESEARCH PROCESS

Ashish FW 13/14 Ohne Titel FW 13/14

John Galliano FW 13/14

Issey Mikake FW 13/14

Libertine FW 13/14

Bon Chic FW 13/14

The research process basically requires first gathering information on all the things that I think would make sense in the overall theme. It was important to refresh my memory on art history and in particular on Cubism and collage art. I find that a lot of times the clash of concepts makes things even more intriguing and less traditional. It creates an interesting twist to the design and this is what I wanted as the focal point in “Fragmented”. I always go back to the runway collections to review and see if there is really a confirmation for my future theme. It always helps to see your thoughts translated in an actual design and that’s why I like to follow what is happening on the runways.

PPQFW 13/14

As a part of the research, I also look for key words that will spell the idea clearly. One thing that I definitely think that we’ll see is the comeback of comic art. For those that are already dedicated fans of it, this statement probably sounds like old news, but we are looking at a wider audience of consumers. The theme will definitely be significant in FW 14/15 but huge in Spring 15. This is probably because we see a lot of the comics being turned into movies. The stories of action heroes are coming back and making comics more current, which is sparking interest in the theme again.

Another interesting key theme is the robots. I wanted to use them to accentuate on the idea of technology in our lives but in a more playful way with a retro vibe. I tried to combine the idea of two different lifestyles, as well, in this theme. On one side geeky is fun and cool, and on the other side artsy is appealing and exciting. In my mind both make a perfect combination to reflect on the new aesthetics of today’s hi-tech world. So this theme is combining both worlds, which you can also see in the inspiration. A lot of people can relate to this theme and that’s what makes it more relevant.

Of course, I wanted the colors to be bright and clean, yet strong enough to be applicable in color combinations and also in a solid color piece. I find also intriguing the combination between black and white graphics and bright accents of color. A lot of these colors I can see to be universal and used across all seasons and suitable for both genders.

We’re talking about FW 14/15 right now but I know that you are in the conception phase of SS 15. Do you see this as a theme you will continue-maybe the colors or specific concepts?

As I said comic art will be significant. Everything that speaks technology can be translated into this theme. For example the binary code and CPU images can be used as prints in design instead of the traditional florals. Moreover, the two can be mixed together to create something new, less traditional.

So you’ve already conducted your research on the artistic themes in the inspiration, what happened next?

Some of the colors are already chosen before I start working on the color theme and I just tweak them to fit the final palette. At the end of the day all the artwork and the colors should make sense together. Then with a few simple words and phrases, I try to tell the story of what these colors and this theme is about.

I want the whole thing to look like a mood board, so that everything is cohesive. I want the designer to look at the final story and be able to see the main idea and how the colors interact. Every picture is there for a reason and every picture is saying something with the intention to convey specific idea.

And I think that’s a really great point to add, you’re trying to find the best way to display this information that follows how a designer thinks, and how they receive information. You’re also taking a look into their design process and helping them along the way.

It is hard to put in few words and pictures all the conceptual thoughts behind each color story. That’s why I always say the palette is just a starting point or it could be a supplement to something the designers already started putting together themselves. Either way to me, it’s working. I would like to think that the final interpretation part is the designer’s privilege and that’s the way it should be.

The palette of “Fragmented” is a good starting point not only for an active wear or kid’s palette, but also for men’s and women’s palettes. Making the design exciting through color is one of the main concepts behind this palette.

Now all of your stories have amazing titles, and I think that’s one of the most interesting aspects of the inspiration because a title ties everything together. How did you come up with FRAGMENTED as a title?

We were talking earlier about Cubism as one of the inspirations for this particular design theme. In Cubism the traditional form and shape of things is changed through fragmenting into different parts and points of view. For me, it is interesting how the cubists take a different approach on a life object.For example, it could be the body of a woman and they fragment the frame. The artist takes the frame apart and recreates it using geometric shapes, shows the object through multiple angles and gives it a new look and therefore a new meaning.