SS24: Key colours in menswear confirm wellness trend

Dark red, ocean blue, and energising green are the three key colours for men’s fashion in spring/summer 2024, as predicted by trend specialists Carlin Creative, WGSN, and Nelly Rodi. The forecasts align with the trend reports provided by the international textile trade fairs Première Vision and Texworld.

On the eve of the men’s Fashion Weeks in London, Milan, and Paris, it seems that the guiding theme is the pursuit of ‘wellness’, or ‘inner well-being’. It must be noted here that the sudden change to the post-covid era has upset the lifestyle habits of consumers and the societal moods that come with it. According to WGSN, the SS24 colours reflect a period of realignment, during which consumers will adapt to the rapid changes in society and technology. Uncertainty will nevertheless remain a dominant force due to ongoing economic, political, and environmental crises.

Red indicates the current difficulties

”Efficiency no longer dictates our world. The straight line is no longer supreme. If the route is still unknown, we know that it will seem a winding one. The pencil often has to be left to wander for the design to take shape,” Louis Gérin & Grégory Lamaud, artistic directors of Texworld, explained”.

This “winding path” is characterised by a dark red that foreshadows the ‘Future Dusk’ of the year 2025. Uncertain and uneven tones, ambiguous pigmentations and twisted colours bear witness to this change of state. They “evoke disorder and transform doubt into a creative force”, Première Vision said.

Visually, this translates into a predominance of red – carmine, crimson, brick, purple, garnet, tile, dark, etcetera. Emotionally engaging, it confirms the importance of being jostled/stimulated. According to WGSN, red is directly linked to the care economy. “Radiant Red” embodies the need to cultivate a more affectionate, caring, and loving culture.”

But red, of course, also represents passion, as Catherine Basquin, director of the textile studio Nelly Rodi, pointed out: “Red is energy, a warm feeling, the idea of getting a collective fever, of moving away from the conceptual to reconnect with primal instinct and authenticity.”.

Blue eases the transition to the future world

A dive into an ocean of freshness quite accurately sums up the breakthrough of blues that we had clearly identified at the Première Vision fair in February 2023. Here, it’s about renewing a colour traditionally associated with the male gender to move towards fluid genderless tailoring, as the masculine/feminine divide is no longer really in the air (despite the rampant refeminisation of women’s wardrobes

The different types of blue – indigo, Klein, denim, electric, French blue, azure, etcetera. – explore the need for stability and moderation, as consumers seek the right balance between work, leisure and the impact of digital technology on daily life. This quest is influenced by the impact of sport on the spring/summer 2024 lifestyle. Perhaps due to the 2024 Olympics?

That is what the trendsetters at Carlin Creative envision: “The 2024 Olympics, held in Paris, will be the spokesperson for consumer expectations and brands will need to follow these values by proposing an athletic-chic lifestyle.” An urban dive, therefore, associated with the desire for a fair-play culture based on inclusivity, eco-responsibility, and accessibility. “Sports culture provides access to better well-being for all.”

Blue, from indigo to sky blue, also indicates a need for perspective, space, in the face of the current turbulence, and the feeling that we must constantly respond to immediacy and be on our toes when, paradoxically, everything takes more time. According to Nelly Rodi, this is characterised by the boom in outdoor tourism and the need to be in motion.

Ultimately, this second breath induced by oceanic vapours translates the principle that “nothing dies, we just change form, usefulness, sometimes name. We must learn to see again. To let ourselves be carried along. To accept the new contours of the world” (Texworld).

Green reflects a return to serenity

Here, the abundance of possibilities is the only rule: let go, let things happen and give power to the imagination. The green track, somewhat like the ski slopes which are the easiest to tackle, signifies our ability to adapt. Of course, this colour can be linked to the green economy, a green capitalism (eco-designed products at the source) that would make this world viable.

But beware, in spring/summer 2024, it’s about surpassing the borders of greens inspired by the plant world – sage, lichen, olive, fir – to move towards powerful chromatic vibrations, luminous, intense and brilliant greens that reinforce the joy of coming together to celebrate shared values of respect and equity.

WGSN refers to it as a “cyber lime, a near-neon that can stimulate and energise the body and mind.” It signifies a strong link between nature and technology. It invites us to give more importance to nature, which is at the origin of new innovations in colours and biological materials.

An energetic green, therefore, minty, lemony or yellowish (particularly for denim fabrics) but also lime greens, to echo this ‘Everything Net’, where physical and digital realities are interchangeable, mixing organic forms and synthetic realism.

This tangy aspect is tempered by the celadon and jade greens explored by Nelly Rodi. From precious stones to refined ceramics, these colours go hand in hand with lithotherapy, believed to rebalance vital functions and contribute to the harmonisation of body and mind, or with the science of Latin American healers. They recall “an ancestral magnificence that brings flamboyance back into modern society.” A pipe dream? Perhaps, but we want to believe in it, which is why this green attitude is probably supported by the fashion industry from top to bottom.

This article was originally published on FashionUnited.FR. Translation and editing from French into English by Veerle Versteeg.