5 Top Print & Colour Trends for 2022

Words by: Bec, Creative Director

Reading time: 4 mins

We’re moving into the third year of the pandemic, and we’re fatigued!  History shows that upheavals in society create very large shifts in culture, be it music, art, fashion, and 2022 proves to be no exception.

We want optimism.  We want connection.  And we’re going to go out there and grab life by the horns!  This year is all about positivity.  Read on to see how this will reflect in what we wear and buy.

1. The Return of Parties

We want to go out dancing till the wee hours, we want to celebrate every milestone, every occasion.  

Sidebar: We are SO excited for the return of our trend reports, now called The Print Pattern Forecast. Download the latest pack and get a better, more comprehensive peekaboo at which trends will help to SELL your designs this year. Don't risk getting it wrong... get it RIGHT starting now.

Party-wear needs florals and the return of loud, clashing flowers for all markets will be prevalent. 

We will see men in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo and Juliet loud shirts, women in florals with bright lime, blue or yellow grounds, and swimwear will bare the ultimate in clashing floral prints.

Think Farm Rio or Maaji. 

TOP TIP:  As much as we want to make all colors sing, it's important to balance your brights with white and mid tones. Otherwise you will find all your colors fighting for attention and your eye will not know where to focus.  Balance is key.

2. Positive Colors

With WFH now the norm, a balance of home and work life will reflect in our wardrobes.  We’ll also be off to social events, and colour statements will be important in our buying decisions. 

Look to lime and lilac as the key go-to colors, with watermelon satisfying our ‘girly’ side.  We’ll see bright against bright and head -to-toe one color outfits with accessories that pop.

Retro combinations of red and orange or purple and green will satisfy our need for nostalgia.

For swim and active, we’ll see cyan continue to rise while pastel green and pink continue.

TOP TIP: Balance your tones.  Love cyan and want to go crazy with it?  A two-piece, oversized suit would be amazing, but start mixing it with other colors and you want to keep those tones tinted with white and not at the same intensity of your hero color.

3. Positive Conversationals

When humanity lets us down we turn to our furry friends.  Animal conversationals and creatures hidden amongst our prints will spark a feeling of warmth and familiarity in our souls.  With so many of our worries turned towards the environment, we want to celebrate all animals big and small.  Our unconscious contribution to conservation perhaps?

Within this theme we include butterflies.  We’ve been harping on about them for ages, starting from the retro 70’s feels, all the way through to the noughties.  These beautiful motifs remind us of better times.

We’ll also be seeing hearts, fruit, smiley faces and suns.  All symbols of positivity.

TOP TIP:  If drawing animals is not your thing, you can always make them into silhouettes.  Lets face it, getting the perfect ‘non scary’ scowl on a leopard is challenging!

4. Plaids and Checks

The perfect way to inject color into any collection, yarn dye checks (or prints made to look yarn dye) will continue to inspire our love of retro fashion.  A brief lesson into the past can really inspire. Think 1980s ‘madras’ checks, 2000’s and 90’s Gwen Stefani/Delite 60’s versions.  It's all one big rotating cycle.

TOP TIP: Knowing the history of fashion is crucial as a designer.  It all comes back around in twenty turn-arounds.  And don't forget, in the 60’s they were inspired by the 20’s and in 2022 we’re inspired by the 60’s take on the 20’s!  Confused yet?

5. Ombre

The evolution of tie dye we now see a new take with bleeding colors created with more digital effects.  Dries Van Noten is our stand out designer, with perfect combinations of hues offset with darks for transeasonal and winter.  Vuitton’s head to toe rainbow suit makes our heart sing.

TOP TIP:  This trend is the perfect opportunity to go all out with AMAZING, zingy colour combos.  Push your colour boundaries and try new pairings.  Pop behind a print or blur your flowers till they almost become just another color.

What next? Check out these great blog posts:

Top 5 Trend Predictions for 2021
The 4 Most Important Vintage Textile Design Trends for 2021 and Beyond
Why Trend Boards are More Important than Ever
Top 5 Trend Predictions for 2020