"Leopoldo made a live video presentation at the recent ‘Denim in Fashion Dhaka’ event organized by Denimsandjeans.com on denim trends for A/W ’17 in the three regions of US, EU and Asia. This was the first time such a live presentation was made at a denim show anywhere and brought out the touch of technology to the field of fashion forecasting."

Veteran designer and developer for denim brands, Leopoldo Duranis has been associated with some of the most reputed companies in the industry including, See by Chloe, Martelli , Evisu, Hellenic Fabrics, Benetton, Sixty Spa, Versace, Mustang and others and extended his designer expertise to them. Based in Italy, he is currently running his own brand - Care Label besides being Artistic Director for Meltin Pot.

Leopoldo made a live video presentation at the recent ‘Denim in Fashion Dhaka’ event organized by Denimsandjeans.com on denim trends for A/W ’17 in the three regions of US, EU and Asia. This was the first time such a live presentation was made at a denim show anywhere and brought out the touch of technology to the field of fashion forecasting.

Denim Trends in the US, Europe and Asia

Leopoldo’s focus was on three regions: US, Europe and Asia. Where US brands are focused on celebrities’ denim, Europe is obsessed with designer denim and Asia is more inclined towards Vintage denim. In the US, the market is focused on women’s wear. He observed that the market is not focused on quality but on celebrities who wear denim. And they call it premium. But he feels it’s not true and calls it ‘Pants’.

The situation in Europe is more focused on design. It’s about designers and not about brands. There are French luxury brands and historic denim brands. Diesel is moving from pure denim to designer denim. Leopoldo also got his own brand.

Leopoldo pointed out, Asia is focused on vintage. Asia, Europe and the US have a different approach to the denim market. Asia is more focused on tradition, heavy fabrics, non stretch fabrics, classic looks. They use selvedge and rigid ones. This is particularly true of the Japanese market.

Future denim trends

Leopoldo is of the opinion that in future denim and jeans will be back to their roots. Fabrics will be heavy and not super stretch. Stretch will be on the warp and not the weft to guarantee comfort. Color is in the direction of natural green indigo. The cast will be darkest. Environment will be the watchword. Water consumption and chemical use will decrease. We are going back to pumice stonewash. According to Leopoldo, strong washes and bleaches will be out from the scene. Washing will decrease the number of whiskers. Washing will be done by the customer and not by the laundry.

Leopoldo predicted that the market will move from the American concept of super stretch and skinny fit to a more traditional look. According to him, the future trends will be a mix of tradition, value, beauty and culture of Europe, Asia and the US. The future will be a combination of these three points of view, he concluded.