WGSN Fashion Trends: Summer 2021

Easy-to-wear, summer weight styles that are being worn to “day-cassions” and smaller celebrations/ceremonies aka “mini-monies”. Occasions are shifting to smaller gatherings often in outdoor settings as people look to celebrate and meet up on a smaller scale. These have been dubbed “minimonies” effectively micro-ceremonies or small celebrations and gatherings that give people the opportunity to dress up but in more casual settings. The novelty of wearing a dress and feeling more dressed up is driving sales for these, but people are looking for guidance on where to wear what. WGSN ecommerce data has seen retailers and brands reacting to this, we are tracking significant increases of mentions of more casual and day occasion keywords being used alongside dresses vs pre-pandemic in 2019. For example in the US use of the word ‘picnic’ alongside dresses is up 69.7% and brunch 10.7%, while in the UK picnic is up 170%, BBQ 233% and brunch 69%, as retailers look to guide customers on the appropriateness of a look or style for these new mini-occasions that in the past they may not have considered dressing up for.

Viral DIY trends on TikTok are driving youth’s interest in handmade home and fashion goods, resulting in a Craftcore movement in both youth culture-based communities and fashion aesthetics. Idle hands throughout the pandemic along with viral It-items such as the crochet cardigan are driving a quick uptrending of Craftcore for S/S 21.