trends

Baby, it’s cold outside. And several fashion designers must be predicting next Fall will be no different, because the colorful ski-style Fair Isle sweater is making a come back. Chevron stripes combined with clean, geometric elements in bright, youthful color combinations make this a great trend to start with when designing your A/W 2016 print collection.

Vivienne Westwood Red Label, Stella Jean, Sibling all via Style.com
Background print © Aaryn West

There is no way to wrap up our review of Spring 2015 runway print trends without first serving up a healthy dose of fruit salad. This tasty trend has been around for some time now, and with all the examples found in recent runway collections, we predict it will remain on the menu for a good while longer. Keep your prints from feeling stale by combining your fruity conversationals with other trends like abstract textures, geometric elements or the Matisse collage look.

Nicole Miller, Sonia by Sonia Rykiel, Au Jour Le Jour all via Style.com
Background print © Aaryn West

Ikat prints have been at the forefront of mainstream fashion for several seasons now, and continue to inspire designers, even at the runway level. The primitive hand and global sensibility of these simple motifs make them both universal and able to transcend typical seasonal parameters. You can never have enough of these prints in your collection.

Matthew Williamson, Baja East, Pam & Gela all via Style.com
Background print © Aaryn West

Novelty prints are having a major moment right meow. So much so that it was a little difficult deciding which ones to report on. From common favorites like birds and butterflies, to the still-going-strong selection of tropical fruits (pineapples and bananas, anyone?), conversationals are a hot commodity for Spring 2015. Cats make for a relevantly quirky choice because they satisfy not only the ‘cute animal’ category, but can also merchandise well with the tropical themes that will no doubt dominate the season. Here Kitty, Kitty!

Giles, Alice + Olivia, Libertine all via Style.com
Background print © Aaryn West

Tropical leaf prints have been steadily growing in popularity over the last year or so, and if you follow our Leafy pinterest board you will need no proof of this. And if the Spring runway shows have any sway, they won’t be going away anytime soon. In fact, this board was a little hard to make only because there were so many great runway designs to choose from, it was difficult to decide which to use! Check out the spring shows from Josie Natori, Tomas Maier, Nicole Miller and Matthew Williamson to get more ideas on how to approach this trend.

Osklen, Clover Canyon, Tracy Reese all via Style.com
Background print © Aaryn West