10 Fashion Trends to Leverage Your Clothing Brand in 2022
If there’s one thing for sure, beauty and fashion never go out of style.
Owning a clothing brand is quite an exciting venture. You can let your artistic side go wild, design clothes you would wear, and dress the world as you see fit. Yet it is also a risky endeavor with fashion trends changing faster than ever.
And there’s nothing worse in the business of fashion than being outdated.
How fashion trends define business
Fashion trends are created either through collective public opinion on what looks great, or more often through the influence of fashion leaders like Kate Moss, celebrities like Kim Kardashian, respected designers such as Versace and Marc Jacobs, and fashion connoisseurs like the editors of the Vogue Magazine. They then become style guides that consumers refer to in order to look part of the community, giving them a sense of belonging.
Being trendy is where the money is when it comes to fashion businesses and clothing brands. You want to carry styles that your consumers would want to buy to be part of the “it” crowd.
With a large number of the population having stayed more time at home in the past two years than ever before, you’d think that fashion trends would be a thing of the past. You would be wrong.
Humans are vain creatures, and that’s why fashion is such a huge business. Even as physical stores closed because of the pandemic, fashion thrived online. In 2021, online fashion retail accounted for 23.51% of the total retail ecommerce sales in the US, with a revenue that’s projected to reach $205 billion in 2022 (Statista, 2022).
And if you want to have part of that amazing revenue this 2022, fashion trends are your friends.
What are the fashion trends for 2022?
If you’re looking to leverage your clothing brand and increase your sales this year, here are the fashion trends 2022 has for you!
1. Branded tank tops
Tank tops are style staples. A basic and a classic, you can wear it any which way: as is during hot days, under any jacket or coat during cool weather, or over slim-fitting tops and dresses for when you feel a little experimental.
This year saw fashionistas giving tank tops some extra love on the streets. And we’re not surprised with even big name brands like Prada walking tank tops on the runway, with their signature logo in front and getting all the attention.
And tank tops are just so comfortable to wear, and a viable everyday option too, especially with the rise of work-from-home setups since the pandemic.
2. Cutouts and sheer
More and more people are flaunting their style by literally flaunting what their mommas gave them. And why not? It’s 2022!
Show how your brand is bold and brave by being creative with cutouts and sheer fabric. With cutouts, you can accentuate any body part, whether it be the bust, the sides of the waist, or the sides of the legs, for a sizzling look on the beach or in the streets. With sheer tops, you can show it all (or not if you’re into layering). Sheer tops, sheer skirts, and even sheer dresses are all the rage.
Just recently, Florence Pugh made news by wearing a beautiful pink sheer dress on the red carpet at the Valentino Fall/Winter show. Sheer looks from Fendi and Prada have also made it to the runway!
3. Loose silhouettes
The recent pandemic has opened the world of fashion to chic loungewear with loose silhouettes. Think coordinates you can sleep in and jump into a work video call with. This newfound love for comfort found people wearing clothes they can actually move in, a definite upgrade in priorities from when we were all squeezing ourselves in skinny jeans.
This look is not exclusive to women, having transcended to men’s 2022 fashion trends as well with the upsurge of wide leg, distressed jeans, oversized tees, and street style kicks. Even the luxury brand Balenciaga has joined in the trend.
4. Black is Back (…and so are other neutrals)
Meanwhile, neutrals never really went out of style even with a lot of colors claiming to be the ‘new black’. Now, these classics are once again taking the scene with brands coming out with a lot of black for that stylish and sleek look that can go from the runway to the office and to basically any event in your life. And don’t forget the white, the beige, the gray, and other neutrals you can wear everywhere.
Check out this beautiful black dress Song Hye Kyo wore recently at a jewelry event. And a quick peek at this fashionista’s IG account will reveal more of her stunning neutral pieces.
5. Pleats and ruffles
When it comes to women’s fashion, pleats and ruffles remain fashionable, especially in this year’s spring and summer collections. They share the spotlight with asymmetrical hems that give skirts and dresses that added quirkiness and edge.
While simple is classic, having pleats, ruffles, and asymmetrical hems will make your look more fun and original (depending on how you use these details), turning heads in your direction.
For ideas on how to pull these off, just take a look at StyleNanda’s take on this trend as seen in their 2022 summer/spring lookbook.
6. Corset-style tops
Being curvy is IN. With the likes of the Kardashians putting out shapewear in the market like there’s no tomorrow and influencing millions of fans (your potential customers) around the world, corset-style tops naturally made it to the stage. Classic, structured, and able to cinch the waist just right for your desired hourglass figure, having corset-style tops on your online store will be driving traffic to your ecommerce website like moths to flames.
You can feature this trend by coming out with standalone corset tops, corset top dresses, or actual corsets for accessory.
Even Versace joined the trend when they walked the runway with their 2022 fall/winter collection featuring corset-style tops.
7. Oversized coats and wrap-style outerwear
For the colder months, oversized coats and wrap-style outerwear take the stage. A blend of comfort and style, people are taking their learned ease over the pandemic season to the streets as the world opens up once more.
And with their loose silhouette, you can even use them for summer layering and chic sun protection as long as you choose a lighter fabric.
Also runway staples, Versace and Balenciaga featured these amazing pieces in their 2022 fall/winter collections.
Dressing up and feeling good is possible for your customers with oversized coats and wrap-style outerwear on your racks.
8. The high neck
Nothing looks more sophisticated and chic than a high neck. At least that’s according to style experts and well-known brands like Givenchy and Salvatvore Ferragamo which featured the style in their Fall 2022 collections.
Perfect for the colder months, it provides coverage and fashion, all in one. Or if you live in the hotter regions, mix and match this style with cutouts or sheer fabrics for a wearable high neck style with that extra oomph!
9. Y2K fashion is back
Fashion is cyclical, and right now, fashionistas all over the world are feeling nostalgic for Y2K fashion — fashion from the late 90s to the early 2000s.
With popular shows like Pose and Cruel Summer set in the 90s and 2000s, and stars of the same era like Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan going back on screen once more, 90s fashion trends and 2000s aesthetics are in full force. Low-rise pants (…and basically low-rise everything) are again taking the streets, crop tops are dominating social media pages, and chunky heels are walking the runway.
Having a 90s fashion online store, or in general, a vintage clothing store online is especially lucrative this year.
Check out this photo of Jennifer Anniston wearing a black slip dress (slide 15)— another Y2K trend that has resurged this year — during a Cosmopolitan party in July 1997.
10. Knitted/Crocheted pieces
Knitted/Crocheted pieces are now no longer limited to bulky fall/winter sweaters. Taking it to the next level, designers have turned to knit/crocheted pieces even during the hotter months. This trend extends to all sorts of clothing from tank tops to light cardigans, beach coverups, and summer/spring dresses.
It’s so trendy that fashion lovers with a talent for craft even go as far as crocheting their own clothing! Check out this Youtube video on crocheting your own bandana top which has garnered 352k views as of writing.
Just go into the 66Girls online store, a South Korean fashion brand, and you’ll see quite a number of knit/crocheted pieces on display.
So go ahead and include knitted/crocheted pieces in your collection!
Your store, Your style
We can give you all the fashion trends 2022 has offered so far, yet there is one thing that can truly leverage your clothing brand above all of them.
And that is your own, unique style.
In starting a clothing brand, you face the challenge of competing with the millions of other clothing brands already established in the market. And that can be tough especially if you’re just a small business with only a limited number of items in your inventory and a somewhat rigid initial price range.
You need to identify what makes you stand out as a brand. How are your clothing pieces different from others already out there? What’s your visual? In entering the market of conventional style, you’re a needle in a haystack. What you need is to create your own fashion trend.
Current trends tell you what people want right now. And while that’s a safer option for easy sales, a more sustainable and long-term goal as a fashion/clothing brand is to become a trend-setter yourself.
Your store should be a reflection of your style. Own your brand!
Fashion ecommerce is the biggest trend yet!
People love expressing themselves through fashion and beauty. Like chameleons, they transform their looks every day to express their unique selves. That’s why fashion will always have a special (and profitable) place in the market.
And with the development of technology, fashion has become more accessible even to people miles away from malls and retail stores. Through ecommerce, the fashion business is thriving more than ever. Big fashion brands both in the east and west like Zara and StyleNanda have embraced fashion online retail, each having its own online store.
If you want to be part of the trend, there are two important questions to ask: What is the best online store platform and how much does it cost to start an online store?
We have the answers for you: Cafe24 and 0$.
Cafe24 is the no.1 ecommerce platform in South Korea, home to some of the country’s biggest global fashion brands like StyleNanda, 66Girls, and SSUMJ.
With us, creating an online store can cost 0$, with no monthly fees! No need to choose from expensive paid plans especially when you’re just starting your online business.
Our ecommerce solutions and features include intuitive website builders, different payment processors and gateways, a reliable order management system, and a wide array of ecommerce apps that offer all the services you’ll need for operations like abandoned cart recovery, data analytics, and logistics. You don’t even have to worry about how to promote your online store because we got you covered with ecommerce features that allow easy social media and content marketing, marketplace syncing, sales and promotions, and more!
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