General Concept: Spring Summer 2024·25
Comfort and versatility, without sacrificing elegance, are the basic precepts for the designs of the upcoming summer season. This entails simple and comfortable structures, where creativity and aesthetics introduce innovative details that reinvent the visual appeal of the products. Flat lines such as slides, sandals, mules, ballerina flats, moccasins, and sports sneakers are dominating, providing flexibility and lightweight feel. In certain cases, they are elevated by the presence of sophisticated ornaments and materials.
The Birkenstock concept once again becomes a strong reference in the trend. A wider range of ballerina flats, with or without a cross strap (Mary Jane), is offered as an alternative to sneakers, while the latter prefer a more casual and urban styling over sporty. In terms of heights, clogs with platforms and sandals with high, stylized heels complement slingbacks with kitten heels or flats. Technological advancements in materials and processes have led to an increase in injected products with industrial designs.
The slogan: cool and artisanal. To achieve this, open-weave fabrics such as nets, meshes, tulle and crochet are being adapted, along with raffia and interwoven, braided and perforated materials. Matte and natural finishes contrast with prominent patent leather and intense metallics like silver, copper, and light gold, in mirrored or aged versions. Additionally, winter materials such as fur and leather persist, including furry suedes, towel fabrics, corduroy, and velvet. These respond to the emphasis on volumes and textures in materials. There's a growing use of denim in various finishes and colors, beyond the traditional ones. Other cottons such as canvas, fine canvas, panama, and linen, both plain and printed, will see good application. Striped, floral, and retro decorative motifs will be the most used, while satins, silks, and metallics will also be among the favorites. In accessories, buckles, tubular straps, and ropes are forecasted to have high demand for seasonal footwear.
The endless array of open flat footwear -slides, sandals, flip flops, and mules- has solidified comfort soles with padded and/or anatomical insoles as part of the sole-insole kit. Developments stemming from this concept recognize their origin in the Birkenstock style. With thicknesses ranging from 1 to 4 cm on average, soles with heels or flats are offered, aesthetically complementing the uppers. Another reference in soles is the Dr. Martens revival, which brings significant volumes, tracked profiles, and welts with contrasting stitching. These soles, along with chunky ones, are being incorporated into moccasins, clogs, and sandals with great success.
For casual and urban sports lines, cupsoles are expanding their possibilities through new side moldings, heights, colors, and textures. In this regard, the presence of vertical moldings and similar features has increased.
The robust chunky style continues for fashion footwear, while for sneakers, the Swiss brand On Running introduces soles with transverse perforations as a trend.
The color palette for summer footwear is characterized by the presence of pastel, natural, and fruity tones. They are friendly and stimulating. Beige, sky blue, pink, salmon, lilac, and light greens are among the most used. They are followed by a series of vibrant, saturated hues such as red, orange, yellow, green, and blue.
The key is to personalize and innovate on combinations beyond monochrome options. The complete freedom of choice, without prejudices or preconceptions, encourages exploration and discovery of new visual effects through original combinations that refresh the models. Thus, options based on the basics multiply, and tones that help characterize the products emerge. Medium shades of gray, olive green, beige peach , blue, rust, or plum add elegance, as do the distinguishing white and black. While sports lines are often identified by visual noise (many simultaneous colors), current trends show greater chromatic sobriety, allowing the product to be valued for its lines and shapes as well.
