Trend forecasters Promostyl unveiled the main trends of Spring/Summer 2008 at a presentation at the London College of Fashion this week. Luxury will be at the heart of the season's trends, with wide ranging interpretations of what modern luxury is. Laurent le Mouël, creative director at Promostyl, has forecast four themes that give a precise idea of forthcoming clothing trends set to impact on the cosmetics industry: Style, Outdoors, Illusions and Territories.
Minimalist, futuristic 80s references will prevail in the form of 80s constructivism, which is expected to filter into cosmetics with futuristic packaging following diagonals, inlays and a high graphic element. The contents of the product will be crucial, with high performance functionality, multifunctional instruments and multi-active skincare products.
Strange Baroque, a romantic, fluid and feminine aspect with an element of the unknown, will play a role under the Illusions theme. Cosmetics will be influenced in terms of packaging design with a strange yet highly decorative quality. High gloss gels and make-up finishes are expected with traditional colours in skin tones, apricots, oranges and classic pink.
On the other side of the spectrum, a return to nature is also expected with simple, ecological functional products to go hand-in-hand with the fashion for the Outdoors. A healthy look with vitamin colours is expected, with flower pigments and floral fragrances. Simple packaging and contents with an emphasis on natural active ingredients follow on from this theme.
The West will look to Africa for traditional methods that have been lost over time and to add meaning and tradition to modernity. According to Matthew Jeatt, Promostyl's UK director, the colour indigo is set to be big: “Indigo will be a very, very strong influential colour for the season.” The cosmetics industry is set to highlight luxurious raw earth materials, with the use of primitive crayons and indigo nail polishes.