Bread & Butter Overview- Denim Directions for Autumn 07

Drapers this week has a report from the recent tradeshow Bread & Butter Barcelona, where over 900 denim and denim-friendly brands showcased their offerings for Autumn 2007. The article describes a lack of new strong new directional trends for next season, with skinny jeans remaining the key shape, whilst straight-leg and boyfriend cuts promote a more commercially saleable silhouette.

"In terms of denim, a more sophisticated look surfaced this season. Clean, dark denim in indigo, jet black and grey was untainted by excessive bleaching, moustaching or stitch detail, while the ranges that looked the most contemporary were the cleanest… The palette was overwhelmingly sombre- dark indigo, black and slate grey were the key shades, with purple accents."

"Many brands also unveiled organic and premium denim collections at the show. Nudie, Mavi, Wrangler and Blue Blood had all developed techniques of working with organically grown cotton and chemical-free washing processes, one of which involved charcoal made from baked potato skins."

"Autumn 07 is shaping up to be an androgynous season in young fashion where men’s and women’s collections overlap, with many brands using the same graphics and shapes on both menswear and womenswear."

Of the major brands, key players to watch included the rapidly expanding t-shirt based Religion brand, a clean, tailored collection from Firetrap, the newly launched 300-piece collection from K Karl Lagerfeld, and a refined military offering from G-Star. Denim appears to be growing up, with smarter, cleaner looks being
offered by many brands striving to add value through sophistication.