Design Trends for 2017: Simple, comfortable and natural

By Vivianne Wang (Parsons School of Design)
Translated by Anna Yang

With 2017 right around the corner, it is time to see what designers have in store, and what new trends might be popping up on the horizon. One of the most notable emerging trends is the shift away from technology and complexity, as we find comfort, solace, and retreat in simplicity and the natural world. This theme is evident in both fashion and interior design. As Gudy Herder (2016) points out, emerging design trends reveal "our instinctive need to express ourselves in a world that is, at times, lost in a rush of souless chaos".

A similar trend towards simplicity and taking time away from harried lives was evident at New York Fashion Week Spring 2017. Loose-fitting, yet highly structured, elements made an appearance, as well as hooded bathrobes disguised as coats, showing that consumers are demanding greater comfort and relaxation from their lifestyles.

Similarly, the brashly off-the-shoulder look and billowy white dresses invite us to be looser and more relaxed. Colors are also muted, more in the range of earth tones, reflective of the organic qualities that Gudy refers to in interior design trends. Texture and comfort and more important than bling or flash.

Vogue's Spring 2017 accessories trends also reflect a welcome preoccupation with nature. One of its bags, for example, features the scene of a sky with clouds, covering the entire bag. It has a dreamy appearance, signaling connectivity with nature. Nature and the relaxation of cloud-gazing are more important than the achievements of fame, wealth, and power.

Likewise, its puffy blue bag resembles a pillow and could even double as such for a tired office worker. This reflects the relaxation and "time out" trend of the bathrobe-style coat seen at New York Fashion Week Spring 2017, and also in the Dolce & Gabbana pool slippers worn with a black chiffon dress. Even the reviled Crocs have made a comeback, albeit with greater panache, showing that comfort is key. The natural, relaxed lifestyle is also evident in trends showing how to carry yoga mats. As George-Parkin put it, "Athleisure's influence still reigns."

Although retreat, lifestyle, and relaxation have dominated the landscape, quirkiness is still evident in a series of surprise fun elements like the back-front shoe, for when you cannot tell whether your are going or coming. Like the red show/white shoe mismatched pair from the Vogue Spring 2017 slideshow, these dichotomous elements show that consumers are finding their own work/life balance. Instead of choosing one over the other, they are choosing both, and it is evident in the willingness to brandish one's one duality, wearing one's complex nature proudly.

As far as spring trends are concerned, notably absent are the flowers and pastels. Instead, strong whites and solid colors are making an appearance. Fashion is experiencing a move away from the familiar spring trope of flowers and pastels and into fresher shades with more confident, bolder solids and striking stripes. Even khaki is making an appearance again. In fact, the most surprising trend is the proliferation of thick stripes, some even candy cane like. The frivolity of stripes corresponds with the loose, fun frills that are adorning new skirts, which are long but layered and flowing.

Trends for Spring 2017 are about having fun, rediscovering the simplicity of childhood, and disconnecting from the pressures of a materialistic life. They reveal a desire to recreate the "Good Life", a life that focuses more on what really matters like friends, family and fun. "It is an anti-digital and essentially a quiet, sensitive, contemplative, inward-looking narrative where time and introspection are the current luxury." Within the Good Life, there is room for everyone to carve out a niche.