Doneger Trends
For the critical retail categories of dresses and tops, a big shift has taken place, according to Janine Blain, West Coast director of trend forecasters and retail consultants The Doneger Group.
“We’re putting away the baby doll. We’re back to showing the waist,” Blain said. The end of the puffy shape of the baby doll has made space for sleeker silhouettes, according to Blain. It was part of the message for a seminar on Spring 2008 fashions for juniors presented by The Doneger Group on Oct. 8 for more than 150 retailers on the 13th-floor penthouse of the California Market Center.
Organic T-shirts and ecofriendly fashions will be an important trend for the upcoming Spring, according to the Doneger executives, which included Roseanne Morrison, the New York– based company’s fashion director. The environmental emphasis is one reason why designer Linda Loudermilk made some brief comments at the seminar. She plans to open an eco-luxury boutique in Los Angeles by the end of the year.
Other juniors trends projected to be popular by Spring 2008 also include wide-leg pants, frayed and distressed denim. High-waisted pants and shorts will make a big splash by Spring 2008.
Tops constructed out of sheer fabrics such as voile, gauze and chiffon will be popular according to The Doneger Group. Plaids will be a popular design for bottoms. Juniors will favor 1980s-style bright colors during the year of the U.S. presidential election. Hot pinks will be popular, and all shades of green will be sought out. Cobalt blue will be another favorite color.
Kids like to mix and match decades. While 1980s colors are forecast to be popular, so are 1960s-style hippie clothes such as crochet tops.
Doneger arrives at its fashion conclusions through documentation of fashions on the streets and runways. Doneger researchers and executives study what designers are offering and what youth are wearing in leading cities across the globe. Based on these observations, they project the coming trends.—A.A.
