WGSN Forecast > A/W 16/17 > Fashion Forecast

INTRODUCTION
Elemental is epic yet intimate. Exploring the
elements of nature, it has a solitary, roaming spirit
as it moves from the ruggedness of the great
outdoors to the inner calm that can be found
indoors. A sublime story that runs through deep
winter, it has emotional intensity and an
atmospheric friction as the still and stormy collide.

WGSN Forecast > A/W 16/17 > Fashion Forecast

Over a period of 13 years, Darren Almond worked on a

series of landscape photographs known as Fullmoon
and taken under the light of a full moon using long
exposure. The places he pictures appear ghostly,
bathed in an ethereal light where night looks to have
turned into day.

Harley Weir is a London-born, Berlin-based

photographer. In this photo, she captures and contains
the richness of the landscape. The use of colour is
important here, as she sensitively portrays the fleeting
mood of a natural scene.

Polly Balitros use of montage inspires print this

season. Experimenting with colour and layers, she
combines old and new scenery; through doing so, she
adds a sense of symbolism to the landscape.

WGSN Forecast > A/W 16/17 > Fashion Forecast

Hiroshi Sugimoto is a Japanese photographer who

produced a series of photographs of the sea and its
horizon. Creating extremely emotive scenes, the
stillness of his textures and the way the fog sits on the
water offer great inspiration for this themes moody,
atmospheric spirit.

Made of graphite, tape and resin, Brooks Shane

Salzwedels work entitled Natl. Parks is so realistic that
it fools people into thinking it is real-life photography.
Assembling the scenery, he creates hauntingly
beautiful phantom-like landscapes.

If You Leave is a collective collection of contemporary

photography. Defined by its founders as capturing
the beauty of solitude, the blog is visual retreat that
features beautifully intimate, personal photographs.
We particularly like Sergey Neamoscous photo inset
for its evocative, emotive quality.

This is HERO magazines backstage image from

Bottega Venetas A/W 14/15 show. Blending classic
menswear with modern sports influences, the
sophisticated textures and colour finishes of the
collection match the Elemental story perfectly.

Taiwanese designer Johan Ku experiments with the

limits of the gauge. With an emphasis on volume, he
creates incredibly large, extremely cocooning
silhouettes as he plays with the proportions of handknit and crochet techniques.

French brand Jacquemus drives this seasons new

nautical look. Taking the classic deckchair pattern and
fattening it up, and pairing this with avant-garde
tailoring, the brand gives stripes a new identity for the
A/W 16/17 season.

WGSN Forecast > A/W 16/17 > Fashion Forecast

Israeli-born, Paris-educated designer Hed Mayner

combines refined tailoring with a military twist. His soft
draping silhouettes, slightly oversized shapes and
practical/utility feel speak directly to Elementals
aesthetic.

Winner of Hyres Premire Vision Grand Jury Prize,

Kenta Matsushige triggers our Clean Utility trend.
Making things look brilliantly simple, he strips fashion
of its excess to produce beautifully functional pieces.

Craig Green typifies Elementals penchant for

enveloping, all-encompassing volume. Its his playful
use of size and scale thats so important here, for he
illustrates how to create emotional weight through
heavy-looking silhouettes.

METALLIC

17-1212 TCX

17-1109 TCX

16-1326 TCX

16-0840 TCX

16-0110 TCX

13-5305 TCX

11-0606 TCX

17-4123 TCX

12-1305 TCX

13-3406 TCX

17-1520 TCX

8060 C

8460 C

8004 C

18-4105 TCX

18-5606 TCX

19-0509 TCX

The palette sweeps from pale, breezy neutrals to heavier, moody greys. It tugs between hard and soft, light
and dark, creating a tension that is bolstered by cold pastels and pearly metallics.

WGSN Forecast > A/W 16/17 > Fashion Forecast

Old Seafarer
Elemental immerses itself in the ferocity of natures force. Romantic in a grand way, it
sits in the centre of a storm, and brings to mind epic images of heavy waves, fleeing
gulls and old sailors out at sea. With that in mind, fashion wraps up warm, protected
from the elements. Waxed cottons, treated wools and natural performance fabrics offer
great defence, providing shield and shelter from the wind and rain. Volume is
everywhere, drowning the silhouette.

WGSN Forecast > A/W 16/17 > Fashion Forecast

Fishermans Oilskins
Traditional oilskins are brought up to date. Protecting against heavy rains
and loud thunderstorms, old sailor-associated surfaces and treatments
are applied to new, contemporary silhouettes. Yves Salomons oily bottlegreen leather coat is a great example of this, where the traditional
fishermans coat is reinvented for modern-day use.

WGSN Forecast > A/W 16/17 > Fashion Forecast

The New Breton

Designers and brands are taking nautical and
twisting it. Different than your summer resort
stripe, this is winter nautical with a darker,
moodier bite. For his A/W 15/16 collection,
Thomas Blint did new nautical with stripepatterned jacquard in heavy black and white.

WGSN Forecast > A/W 16/17 > Fashion Forecast

Delicately Wild
Knitwear grows organically, creating bold, dominant forms in soft,
gentle textures. Known for knitting emotional sculptures, our
influencer, Taiwanese designer Johan Ku, takes hand-knit and
crochet techniques to new levels, blowing up the scale to explore
the upper limits of the gauge. Jewellery also looks to organic
growth, focusing on reproducing raw, natural textures.

WGSN Forecast > A/W 16/17 > Fashion Forecast

Colour Erosions
Design peers out onto the wastelands of salt
and sulphur plains of the Danakil Desert, an
area in northeast Ethiopia. A rare geological
sight, this stark, striking scene streaked with
yellow and red is a great source of inspiration,
influencing surface treatments, washes,
patterns, prints and tie-dyes.

WGSN Forecast > A/W 16/17 > Fashion Forecast

Mineral Traces
The wind and weather wear things down, creating worn-in
textures and leftover traces. The dreamlike work of Mia
Faithfull and Andr Schmucki, with its blurry layers and
barely-there borders, guides surface interest and treatment
this season. Softly weathered and washed, the remnants and
residues should be left to linger.

WGSN Forecast > A/W 16/17 > Fashion Forecast

Atmospheric Stills
Digital photography looks to the beauty of the natural
world. Key for prints and graphics, text is also
introduced into the landscape, scattered and jagged
for original effect. Polly Balitro strongly influences this
upending trend, experimenting with the technique of
photomontage to create unique landscapes that not
only bring together the old and new but have a sense
of symbolism to them too.

WGSN Forecast > A/W 16/17 > Fashion Forecast

Smoky Luminescence
Inspired by the watery glow of winter light, fabrics smolder with
gentle luminescence. Colour is dark and smoky, diffused and
dreamy. Effects come through either the structure of the fabric or
the surface of the print. Luke Elwess modern-day Monets are key
to this story, as he collects colour and light to create movement
and ripples that glow with smoky pearlescence.

WGSN Forecast > A/W 16/17 > Fashion Forecast

Natural Structure
Elemental also looks at nature from a darker, more reflective
angle. The new floral for the season works for camos,
placements and conversational repeats. For inspiration, turn
to the beautiful, enchanting paint-like photographs of
Carsten Witte, who has created a mesmerising series titled
The Secret Life of Plants. From a design point of view, keep
colours dark, heighten the shadows and focus on the texture
and structure of plants.

WGSN Forecast > A/W 16/17 > Fashion Forecast

Longitude and Latitude

Accessories turn to classic navigation devices and nautical instruments for
design direction, with the longitude and latitude lines of the world map
inspiring shape, structure and form. Among the designs steering this style
are Lanvins S/S 15 RTW arm cuff, David Watkinss Gyro Bracelet and the
Orbit ring from Montreal-based Marmod8.

WGSN Forecast > A/W 16/17 > Fashion Forecast

Soft Utility
Utility and function turn modern and minimalist through the use of
pure, soft and padded fabrics. As well as offering a comfortable yet
protective framework, tailoring and sportswear are also fused
together for a soft, cosy approach to utility dressing.

WGSN Forecast > A/W 16/17 > Fashion Forecast

Inner Sanctuary
An inward-looking trend, this theme uses the
cocooning comfort and soothing consolation of
the blanket for design reference. The way the
fabric folds and falls is key, while volumewrapped designs, merino wools and thick,
enveloping layers also help create an inner
sanctuary through cloth.

WGSN Forecast > A/W 16/17 > Fashion Forecast

Duvet Dressing
Modern quilting is being updated with sumptuous textures, depth
and volume. Triggered by Maison Martin Margielas collaboration
with H&M last year which saw the launch of the duvet coat, softly
quilted and puffy proportions are only set to grow, as designers
look to the cosy comfort of snug duvet days for inspiration this
autumn/winter season.

WGSN Forecast > A/W 16/17 > Fashion Forecast

Extreme tactility defines a quietly protective look. Lofty, air-spun yarn knits with frosted finishes, tangled and fibrous roving-yarn weaves, and soft pilled-look fleecy
weights offer enveloping warmth while dimensional quilted jerseys offer haptic dimension and insulation.

WGSN Forecast > A/W 16/17 > Fashion Forecast

WGSN Forecast > A/W 16/17 > Fashion Forecast

Iamamiwhoami

Jones

Shura

Kacy hill

Grouper

Ibeyi

Nils bech

Nils Frahm

Leviathan

Aphex Twin

WGSN Forecast > A/W 16/17 > Fashion Forecast

ART

Egon van
Herreweghe

CULTURE

FASHION

Peter Hujar

Viktor & Rolf

Michelangelo
Pistoletto

CULTURE

FASHION

Konstantin Datz

Juun.J

ART

CULTURE

FASHION

Thomas
Houseago

Solaris, film by Andrei

Tarkovsky

Haider
Ackermann

ART

WGSN Forecast > A/W 16/17 > Fashion Forecast

WGSN Forecast > A/W 16/17 > Fashion Forecast

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