With Spring in the air, the time to start planning and incorporating summer outfits in a fashion moodboard is fast approaching.
So for this year's update we'll take you through the hottest trends for summer 2024 that we're seeing from the brands we're working with.
In summary:
Read on for more in-depth content on the process.
A fashion moodboard is visual representation of photos, icons, fabrics swatches, color palettes, product examples and design sketches used in the inspiration process, that explain the design concept of a theme or collection.
At least this is what over 500 designer interviews and 10 years in the fashion industry has taught us.
And this inspiration board is key component in fashion creation.
Traditionally creating fashion moodboards took the form of a physical board in the office, filled with magazine cutouts, fabric swatches, photos and newspaper clippings, used to set the aesthetic of a brand's project.
For brands and designers the moodboard represents the first stage of inspiration in the design process.
A place to collect their ideas, look for themes, and finally start to join those ideas and patterns on their fashion moodboard, into what will eventually become a new collection.
The main function of a fashion moodboard is to focus the fashion designer’s mind on the aesthetic, style and direction, while also relaying the colour influences.
Read more about our experience with moodboards, as well as our time fashion moodboarding in Emilie's blog on why we started Make the Dot.
In our decade long experience working with fashion brands of all sizes, we've seen the fashion moodboard grow in importance and play a number of roles across different departments.
The fashion moodboard is a canvas and workspace to collect ideas and inspiration and turn them into concepts and themes
That content, design sketches, color palettes and swatches can now be used to create an actual mockup of a fashion style
Bill of material, point of measure, costing and other product sourcing requirements can be linked further down the value chain
Style guides, brand guides and marketing assets are all then created using the content and themes on the fashion moodboard
Finally stores, pop-ups and malls all get guidance from the concepts created on and within the board
For more in-depth content on the moodboard creation process and our insights, checkout that blog.
The creative process to create a mood board, is either online using a fashion moodboard maker / digital mood board or offline using a physical mood board and is seen as the start of the inspiration process ➡️
Fashion designers from brands of all shapes and sizes use this stage to collect their ideas, look for themes, and finally start to join those ideas and patterns on their fashion moodboard, into what will eventually become a collection.
The main function of a fashion moodboard is to focus the fashion designer’s mind on the initial idea, aesthetic, style and direction, while also relaying the brand values 🖼
Below is the steps taken to create mood boards in general as well as a fashion moodboard.
The first step is where to look for inspiration.
A full list off the online sources we'd recommend using for your digital mood board are listed below.
Top Tip! Start with a fashion moodboard template, to make the process even quicker and easier if you're creating a mood board in digital form.
We've also written a more in-depth blog on the process and challenges fashion designers face when creating a fashion moodboard.
The contains the best things and best way to present your ideas, from feedback from over 500 interviews.
In order to create a digital mood or fashion moodboard, the designer needs a fashion moodboard maker, and for this there are a few tools on the market today.
An online app and image database popular with fashion designers the world over. Its rich fashion database and imagery makes it easy to collect images and make a fashion moodboard online in the right direction
A design tool known to both novice and experienced designers. Canva’s free tier and template library allows users the ability to create fashion moodboards online in a simple and easy way
(cough cough) Make the Dot is the all-in-one fashion moodboard maker, whose main purpose is focused specifically on fashion designers. Our free forever app and fashion specific features such as; built in color palettes, an infinite canvas, browser plugin and built in collaboration.
This gives designers all the things they need to start designing their fashion moodboards fast and collaboratively.
Ok, now we know how what is a fashion moodboard and how to make a fashion moodboard online, lets get into the hottest trends from the fashion industry for Summer 2024. And how that 2024 mood board might look.
Summer 2024 fashion moodboard aside, inclusive fashion can mean many things to many different people and brands.
To some it may mean more diverse sizes and categories, while to others it may mean more diverse color palettes to complement a variety of skin tones.
First pioneered in the beauty industry by Rhianna and Fenty the fashion industry is finally catching up.
Partner of ours, East Side Golf have pioneered inclusive fashion for golfers that combine golfing traditional styles and assortments with streetwear designs targeted at minority communities, who are joining the sport in droves.
With collabs with Jordan and Mercedes, they have become favourites for sport stars such as Steve Curry and DJ Khalid.
A new ensemble we're seeing for 2024 is a combination of formal suit top halves, and short bottom halves within the suit ware category.
J. Crew, Topman, Asos, and Barneys are among the retailers selling the short suit this season. They may be taking cues from fashion icon Pharrell Williams, who donned tuxedo shorts to the Academy Awards earlier this year.
"It’s definitely having a moment, particularly with younger guys," Jon Patrick, the creative director at menswear company J.Hilburn.
Are your fashion moodboard's for 2024, containing this look?
Last but not least with the Euro 2024 football championship in Germany this summer, blokecore is having it's moment.
Adidas sambas, a football terrance staple from the 1980s were one of the most sought after and fastest selling trainers so far this year, donning the feet of everyone from Hailey Bieber to Gigi Hadid.
Not to be left behind, Puma recently brought back another fan favourite from it's archive, the Palermo, in collaborative with Dua Lipa and Man City footballer Jack Grealish.
So what is blokecore, and how can this be incorporated into your fashion moodboard for summer 2024.
Think all things football (or soccer if you insist).
Jerseys
Trainers / sneakers
And things you would have seen in the stands in the 1970s and 80s.
Checkout some example fashion moodboards for summer 2024 trends I made below.
Hope these will be some inspiration to you.
Last and most importantly finding sources of inspiration for these summer 2024 fashion trends is key, and below I’ve listed a few useful sources that have a rich library of content.
With one of the internets largest fashion specific image libraries available, Tagwalk is a great place to start your inspiration journey. Search by category, season or collection to start building out your 2024 fashion mood board
While Tagwalk is fashion specific, Unsplash contains a vaster but more generalised image library, allowing you to fill your 2024 mood board with way more than just hot fits. Think Google Images x 10
Focusing more on content and imagery of a more vintage nature, Gem is a great resource for comparing Summer 2024 trends to those of a more vintage nature, in particular content around the original 1980s blokecore.
I hope this blog and our insights helped you create your perfect fashion moodboard for summer 2024.
Check out our other blogs on moodboards for fashion below👇
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