The LYCRA Company, a global leader in developing innovative fibre and technology solutions for the apparel industry, has launched its directional legwear trends forecast for AW23-24. This season designers look to the future by taking inspiration from nature and traditional crafts, layering it with science and technology. Presenting a forward-thinking prediction of the cutting-edge trends in collaboration with Stijlinstituut Amsterdam the LYCRA Company showcased a capsule collection of the creative legwear. The trends are presented by Anne Marie Commandeur of Stijl Instituut Amsterdam:  MANMADE, EMPOWERED, RECONFIGURED and HYBRIDISED.

MANMADE

Inspired and informed by nature, but not necessarily natural. Nature is simulated and reinvented and perfected by science. The trend explores a simulated view of nature with three key looks: Fossil Camouflage, Organic Tech and Algae Cool.

Fossil Camouflage – Inspired by the patterns and textures of pre-historic nature, the key to this look is texture, combined with practical functionality, delivering legwear that is made to work hard and last.

Key innovations include:

• LYCRA® SOFT COMFORT technology offering the ultimate all-day comfort and easy donning whilst staying in
• COOLMAX® toughFX™ technology transports moisture away from the body with permanent evaporative cooling, plus rugged durability.

Organic Tech – An enhanced nature. Using high performance materials and high-tech survival aids to get a deeper and closer connection between technology and nature.

Key innovations include:

• LYCRA^® SHAPING technology with LYCRA^® ADAPTIV fibre brings comfort with smooth, yet firm support.
• LYCRA® 3D technology offers a smooth, uniform appearance and freedom of

Algae Cool – Rooted in the positive aspects of bio-centric thought, this look takes inspiration from the beauty and power of nature’s patterns, systems and networks.

Key innovations include:

• LYCRA^® XCEPTIONELLE technology is a patented garment construction. Enabling the creation of hosiery with no sewn-in panels and anti-friction zones, accommodating larger silhouettes in a fashion-conscious way.
• THERMOLITE® EVERYDAY WARMTH technology is the perfect answer for everyday sock consumers, offering warmth and comfort by using technology that traps heat from the body and moves moisture away from the skin. A solution to help keep warm in the current global energy crisis.

EMPOWERED

Fearlessness, confidence and inclusivity remain at the core of impactful legwear fashion, empowering women towards a positive future. All women must be included and represented in a new wave of inclusivity. Key looks explored are Woman Domination and Canvas Skin.

Woman Domination – Women’s empowerment has many faces. Makers and designers must keep breathing new life into the body-positivity movement, focusing on self-love, beauty, health and wellbeing. Designs that utilise technologies to improve inclusivity and wearability of a range of shapes and style.

Key technology:

• LYCRA® MADE TO FIT YOU technology provides the perfect stay in place band for all thigh sizes with no digging in and red

Canvas Skin – A look that taps into the ancient art of using a skin as a canvas Body art is the ultimate individual expression, self-realisation and expression of body-ownership. Sheer designs with a tattoo-effect and 3D stretch dominate this look.

Key technologies:

• LYCRA® SUPER SUMMER SHEER technology delivers incredibly sheer hosiery that’s also durable, due in part to ladder-resistant LYCRA® FUSION™
• LYCRA® FREEF!T™ technology brings added comfort and shape retention to waistbands, with no digging in and rolling

RECONFIGURED

Products with longevity over generations, being built to last. Socially-minded designers and makers look to revive and reinvent craft traditions for the modern age, placing emphasis on creating designs that will last well beyond just one season and have their own authentic story to tell. Three looks – New Collective, Hippie Origin and Art Fair.

New Collective – Tapping into a new generation’s desire to tell their story, to have a narrative, layered, collected and collaged garments combine influences rooted in memory, history, music or travels. Garments that adapt to the wearer’s needs and activity, supporting them on their daily journey.

Key technologies:

• Made from 100% post-consumer recycled resources, COOLMAX® EcoMade PRO technology helps keep the wearer comfortable, cool and dry, no matter what they demand of their
• LYCRA® ADAPTIV fibre delivers the feeling that it was made just for you. It provides shaping and compression as needed and makes garments easier to put on and take off.

Hippie Origin – Recycled, upcycled and reused. Designers looking at ways to create breathe new life into old fashion items, keeping them in the loop for longer. Upcycling found and recycled items by layering embroidery, dyeing and painting, repairing, cutting and even collaging whole items.

Key technology:

·         LYCRA® XTRA LIFE™ fibre delivers long-lasting comfort, fit and shape by helping to resist fibre damage that can shorten the garment’s wear life.

·         LYCRA® DRY technology moves moisture away from the skin, evaporating quickly while helping to keep feet dry.

Art Fair – By reconnecting with traditional crafts such as knitting, creators are writing stories with yarn.  Narrative-rich textile crafts boast a beneficial slowness of pace, creating fashion for the future, rooted in the past.

Key technology:

• Made from 100% post-consumer textile waste, COOLMAX® EcoMade ALL SEASON technology keeps the wearer comfortable at different levels of activity and across seasons.

HYBRIDISED

As consumers increasingly express the desire to break away from the real world to embrace escapism, designers are revealing the potential of virtual and augmented realities. Fantasy too drive imaginative design with limitless optimism. Three looks – AI Design, Meta World and Virtual Team.

 

AI Design – As machines begin to learn and create, the new technologies impact the perception of beauty. Finding ways to work with AI to enrich practices through aesthetic and creative imagination.

 

Key Technology:

• LYCRA^® FitSense™ technology offers compression across targeted power zones, maximising shaping and control, without compromising comfort.

Meta World – Digital natives are interested in being dressed online and offline. They live a considerable portion of their lives in digital communities and will be the first to envision a future where fashion transcends the physical body.

 

Key technology:

• LYCRA^® freshFX™ with HeiQ technology provides the benefits of comfort, fit and shape with freshness and hygiene applications.
• LYCRA® XTRA LIFE™ fibre delivers lasting comfort that keeps its shape.

 

Virtual Team – A growing fashion subculture uses digital design to re-model real-world clothing, uploaded on the blockchain or modelled by real people, inspiring wearers and makers.

 

Key technology:

• LYCRA® ENERGIZE™ fibre delivers graduated compression, helps to enhance muscle recovery, and protects against injuries.