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Every design process is inspired by something else, what the designer has seen, heard or felt.

An Interview with Kathrin Schiffner, fashion designer and journalist, Berlin

By Oliver Spies

Every design process is inspired by something else, what the designer has seen, heard or felt.

Is there a global style in fashion design or do geographical differences and dependencies have to be taken into account?

I think that today we can indeed speak of a “global style”. The large brand houses feature the same collections in Tokyo as in Sao Paolo. Demand might not be the same everywhere, but this can also vary between a store in, say, Berlin Center and one in Düsseldorf. Since a style or product trend is often shaped by the cultural trends of a social environment and attitudes are similar everywhere in the western world, differences are tending to disappear more and more. Traditional, culture-related designs influenced by a specific place will doubtless – and it is to be hoped – not vanish completely, but they seldom play a predominant role in the fashions of the big brands.

Was that different a few years ago – Is there a trend in trend development?

This development is no longer really new, but it will continue to intensify. With the steady increase of world trade, trends will continue to become more and more similar. True, there is a recognizable trend toward special regional or geographical features, but I don’t think that this will establish itself so firmly in the foreseeable future that we can speak of a real counter movement.

You are concerned with fashion as well as with trends in general. Is there a parallel between fashion and other trends or do fashion trends develop independently of capital goods, architecture and interior design?

A fashion trend is not a trend in the sense of a major transformation process. A fashion trend, such as the “New Look” of the fifties, must be distinguished from a short-term craze, for example, the horizontally striped shirts of this summer. Fashion as an industry has developed into a very fast-moving sector with numerous collections every year and new trends every month. This process can scarcely be compared with developments in the car, furniture or architecture sectors. Quite apart from the fact that these capital goods require much longer research, design and production phases, very few consumers can afford to buy a new car, new furniture, etc., every year.

Does that also apply to color trends”

Statistical surveys have shown that color trends have a seven-year cycle, although the “classic” colors always sell – in general better than any of the trend colors. However, I think that color trends are similar to other trends – although they change more rapidly and more frequently in fashion than in capital goods for technical reasons. Moreover, some colors lend themselves to specific products, for example a lilac ladies’ jumper is more likely to catch on than a lilac car.

In fashion, designers often imitate the style of another generation. Why is that so’ Is there nothing new to invent?

There are numerous reasons for this in my opinion. In the fashion sector, it is probably really true that there is no longer anything new to invent – not necessarily because we have already seen it all, but because the human body allows very narrow scope as regards functionality and esthetics. Another important reason is that something beautiful has already been judged as such by a large number of people. So why should it vanish forever– We still listen to Mozart’s music today, although Mozart himself is long gone.

Retro trends are not an invention of the last century, even if it might often appear so. The classical fashions of the eighteenth century resemble the shirt-like clothing of antiquity, and in about 1850 fashion went through a new Rococo age with the return of the crinoline. And exactly 100 years later, Dior’s “New Look”, with its narrow waists and ample skirts, was reminiscent of these forms. In this way, shapes and details reappear in changed form, translated to reflect the spirit of the time. Our increasing awareness of trend repetition is due to the extremely high frequency of new trends. Today, it does not take 100 years for a trend to return, because all resources needed to develop and propagate it have been greatly simplified and accelerated.

And is there any connection between new (avantgarde) and retro fashion?

One conditions the other. Every design process is inspired by something that the designer saw, heard or felt. Nothing can be created in a vacuum. Designs in the making are influenced by current trends, so there is an interaction.

Source: Color Evolution Guide

This interview has been taken from the Color Evolution Guide, which is part of the Color Trend Vision project. It provides detailed background information for 31 selected colors based on their current and future trend position. With the help of photographs, taken around the world, the book guides you through the emotions, origin and affinity of the colors.