Knitwear is shedding heavy embellishment and bright colors to emerge this spring in a more natural and pared-down form.
Spring’s color palette is neutral, its embellishments are minimal — and natural where they do appear — and texture is playing a more important role.
This follows a fall, where such trends began to appear. Fall is a huge season for knits, and Nicole Fischelis, fashion director and vice president at Macy’s East, said the trends selling well — textures, neutral color palettes, long silhouettes, cardigans and belts — are looks knitwear manufacturers are highlighting for spring.
As fewer embellishments adorn sweaters, the knit fabric becomes more important. Designers are stressing texture — in the form of ribbing or interesting weaves — and fabric quality. New blends, incorporating more luxurious fabrics such as silk, create a softer base for the cleaner sweater.
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At Joseph A., where novelty knits have been their specialty, the basics business is better than ever. Joseph A.’s spring sweaters wholesale from $14 to $44 and are available at stores such as Macy’s.
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“So much of what has been the story since we began was embellishment, and now that is transitioning into cleaner looks,” said Elan Eliau, founder and chief executive officer of Joseph A. “What our spring ads will show traditionally wouldn’t be indicative of a Joseph A. look for the season. If you’d seen this six months ago, you wouldn’t say it’s a Joseph A. sweater.
“Embellishment will be a smaller percentage of what the spring assortment will be, but it is still something our customer is reacting to,” Eliau added. “Clean is important, but it’s still the same girl and she wants some special pieces.”
The trend to cleaner looks could be good for the knitwear business.
“Customers are willing to buy fashion basics in two or three colors, while novelty pieces may only be one-sale pieces,” said Michael Delaney, president of Ralsey Group Ltd. “Most of the buyers would gravitate toward the novelty, but we have a business to run, and you have to sell basics, too.”
Ralsey Group Ltd. manufacturers private label knits, as well as a new line of knits under its own Ralsey label that wholesales for $18 to $28 and is sold at Nordstrom, Dillard’s, Belk and Macy’s.
Embellishments are not gone entirely, but the type of embellishment is different and more subtle. Natural adornment, like shells, wood and coconut shells, replace the bling-y crystals and jewels of past seasons.
“Embellishment has not gone away,” said Ellen Dawson, executive vice president of August Silk. “We are an industry of overreactionaries. We have a customer who wants to see embellishment. But she has gone away from gems and jewels into the naturals. Even buttons are getting away from rhinestones and toward shells.”
A more neutral palette matches this understated and earthy ornamentation. Brown carries over from spring, but through its softer beige cousins. Olives, rusts and taupes are also popular, in contrast with the bright colors traditionally associated with spring.
August Silk sweaters wholesale from $15 to about $25, and are sold nationally at Dillard’s, Federated Department Stores and specialty stores.
Black-and-white is another seasonless palette that is reemerging in a big way for spring.
Nautical inspiration brings another set of colors — navy, red and white — along with stripes and subtle sea-inspired shapes, like boat necks and three-quarter-length sleeves.
At Malo, an Italian firm with a 30-year history in designing luxury knits, the cardigan is at the core of this spring’s collection, said Enrico Di Muccio, president and ceo of IT Holding USA, which owns Malo.
“We are still keeping our core business with our natural elegance concept, however this season, we are slimmer, sexier and more modern,” Di Muccio said.
The spring Malo collection, which showed at New York Fashion Week, has a Sixties inspiration, and its knitwear features longer silhouettes, belted cardigans, a lightweight seven-gage yarn and a color palette of navy, natural tones, olive and white. Malo’s knits wholesale from $250 to $360, and are sold at its own four stores, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom and specialty stores.