Secretary General of IDEAS ACTIVE SPORTS DESIGN NETWORK
Presentation at Performance Days show in Munich/ Germany,
November 4, 2014

Colours & Trends
Update Summer 2016 and Preview Winter 2016*17

FOOD – bare necessity and delicious pleasure. This multifaceted source of energy and life has gained new value in our fast changing world. An analogue counter-balance connecting us in a second to authentic memories and emotions by a certain taste or smell. Reflecting cultural diversity, offering rich discoveries and multi-sensory experiences.

Industrial food production evokes the desire for the natural and organic. We rediscover the tasty freshness of locally sourced food, we delight in creative cooking and home gardening, we enjoy sharing the table with family and friends.

Having all this in mind, IDEAS stirred the best ingredients and shaped delicate colour stories to bring tasteful inspiration to the season summer 2016.

Take a bite!

• Energy for Life

Active, vital and dynamic, the keywords of the globalized world. Always on the run.

fabrics The quest for versatile fabrics. Extremely light cotton/polyamide blends. Sleek handles. Vivid surfaces with a reflective sheen. Smooth stretchy fluidity. Highly compressive jerseys. Double-faces
with neat backside structures.

graphics Sensitive geometry. Two-tone stripes XL. Dynamic compositions of semi-transparent layers create a sense of motion and 3D. Strong and expressive motifs on porous grounds. Colour combinations delve deeply into the vibrant power of red.

colour mood Sizzling hot red sets the scene of this colour range. Warm and earthy nuances of burgundy and salmon red resonate with matte intensity. Marina blue, soft lilac and pale mint emphasize the vibrant energy of this unlikely summer palette.

• Double Reality

Abundance versus shortage. The contrast of cascades of clear water and sun-parched land.
Virtual and real world are melting into one another. Light bouncing off highly glazed surfaces.
Dissolving boundaries.

fabrics Playing with contrasts. Ever enhanced functional properties. Yet a turn to more natural fibres, too. Sturdy cotton fabrics for outdoor activities gain ground. Merino blends in fine gauges. Melange knits with irregular flashes of colour. Glazed surfaces and porous textures.

graphics Bold patterns full of movement. Fragile veining references liquid or parched landscapes. Creative crossings of the digital and natural. Colourful layers of fragmented and enigmatic urban
motifs. Shimmering overprints.

colour mood A range of deeply saturated colours – a splendid reflection of the blue planet´s colours. Sharp yellow lends its power to earthy browns and lush green. Brilliant turquoise adds a refreshing breeze.

• Acid Blueness

The blue lab – complex cutting-edge sciences foster the development of radical new ideas. Providing limitless possibilities.

fabrics Manipulating the familiar. Engineered hybrid fabrics. Transforming natural fibres into functional essentials. Glassy reflections underline scientific precision of structures and surfaces. Diaphanous luminosity. Warp-knits with a high percentage of elastic. Microscopic embossings and subtle reliefs create a modest sheen.

graphics All kinds of network patterns partly inspired by science. Twisted and distorted. Disappearing in infinity. A bold and free mix of architectural geometries and organic shapes with stunning perspectives. Lucid outlines. Precise cut-outs.

colour mood A colour palette dominated by illuminated shades of blue and intense turquoise – evoking clarity, precision and purity. Injections of sulphurous lemon add a touch of acidity.

• Fragile Fusions

The ephemeral beauty of frozen moments. Strictly individual combinations of scraps of the past and contemporary findings.

fabrics Soft fabrics. A dry and natural hand-feel is key to surface textures. 3layer light-weights offer cosy comfort and freedom of movement. Discreet crinkle effects add volume. Linen/polyester blends. High gauges for PES knitted fabrics.

graphics Delicate lightness and imperfection stamp the graphic spirit. Pared-down uneven stripes. Poetic encounters of blurring frescoes and shattered pencil lines. Multiple layering of dispersing mineral patterns.

colour mood Slightly frosted yet optimistic colours seem to float in midair. Cool lime, creamy mint and bluish mist pair with dark berry, plum and pale ochre. Translucent white highlights this perfectly balanced array of colours.

• TASTY

A menu of flavours, scents and textures stimulating all senses. Refined surprises and rich discoveries.

fabrics Focus on haptic sensations. Playing with weights and handles. Diversity is everything.
Coatings and laminations support the perceptible structures of fabrics. Coming up with ever more classic structures like twill, gabardine and rib-stops.

graphics Patterns explore geological strata. Raw and unfinished. Transforming everyday botanical motifs in exuberant all-over prints. Colours turn into vaporous abstract forms. Fine ripples and fragile veining.

colour mood A palette based on opulent green hues. Contrasted by savoury raspberry and
candy pink. A true green story exploring the delicate diversity of tonal combinations with few zesty contrasts. Lifted with flashes of pale mint.

• Growing Seeds

Initiating new ideas. A sense of openness and lightness. Looking forward with curiosity and sensitivity.

fabrics Strictly contemporary. Careful attention to the demands of the users. Audacious experiments. Enhancing ecology. Emphasizing long durability and high flexibility. Customized mesh patterns. Polished surfaces. Sticky lustre.

graphics Drawing inspiration mainly from nature. New types of camouflage. Re-composing natural settings. Micro geometries. Blending the real and the imaginary. Dynamic botanical structures.
Glassy translucence.

colour mood A tasty colour range with sparkling finesse. Deep magenta-purple and peachy rose pair perfectly with light mustard yellow. Earthy brown frames the splendour of these tones while sandy beige and petrol blue underline the vivid intensity of the palette.

Please note:
The complete IDEAS colour forecast spring I summer 2016 (62 pages with graphic inspirations & recommendations for colour combinations) can be purchased exclusively by direct order via e-mail: news@ideas-designers.com.

Looking beyond: Winter 2016*17
Over the last decade, practices of sharing have been spreading all over the globe. Sharing and collaboration are trend-setting topics which will be crucial for the further development of modern societies. Therefore the members of IDEAS selected the word “SHARE” as their creative guideline for the season autumn/winter 2016*17. The designers wish to share their thoughts and feelings for the upcoming season with sports industry.

The most important characteristic of the season is its splendid lightfulness.

We see a voluptuous neutral range highlighted by shimmering salmon red. Petrol grey sets a dark accent but never dims the luminosity of the range.

Another strong story reflects the modern “techno nature”. The subtle colour range is based upon nature´s colours: Dominated by cool shades of green and aqua, combined with intense rusty red and sulphurous yellow. Metallized effects are key to fabric surfaces and accessories to lend a scientific touch.

Dark colours are shown with a fresh approach: Blue copper, neutral berry cream and soft rose create refined colour moods, backed by blackened plum and brown.

Please note:
The complete IDEAS colour forecast for autumn I winter 2016*17 will be available by January 31, 2015.

Munich, Nov.24, 2014

Nora Kuehner
for IDEAS Active Sports Design Network