Carlo Volpi reports from Paris

Another edition of Knitwear Solutions took place in Paris at Parc Des Expositions during Premiere Vision. Now in its third year, the show has grown considerably since the beginning with 43 leading manufacturers from all market levels, five spinners, specializing in wool, cotton and cashmere, two organisations promoting knit know-how from Morocco and Mauritius and Shima Seiki, the leading manufacturer in knitting machines and software.

Fourteen knit studios from various countries also showed their developments in fabrics and stitch structures at Indigo, Hall 5, offering designers an all round solution from product design to development and manufacturing.

Knitwear Focus, the dedicated trend area of the show, was once again curated by designer Xavier Brisoux in collaboration with some of the manufacturers of show.

Main trends for A/W 15-16

Colour will play an important role for this season, with lots of tricolours for both womenswear and menswear and tonal shades to create 3D effects. Menswear has soft, colourful but not eccentric tones.

The interaction between the shape of a garment and its fabric also seemed very relevant, the silhouette will dictate the design of the fabric and it will open up new possibilities for the wearer.

Industry professionals individuated three main fabric trends for A/W 15-16, High Volume, Simply Fancy and Chaotic Allure, which were further explored by the various forums of the show.

The fabrics in High Volume are compact, soft, often bonded with other textiles and with no lining. There is an idea of minimal cleanliness and abstraction of details in the fabric structure that creates a perfect stage for experiments in 3D. The jerseys are very textural, elastic and almost rubbery. Trompe l’oeil effects are used to create illusions of three dimensionality with tonal colours.

Contrasting elements, like large and small details, vaporous and chunky textures, are largely used. This group is also defined by a new notion of noble fibre, with luxurious 100% synthetic and polyester fabrics. The silhouettes are very structural, with angular tailoring and pleats.

Simply Fancy is characterized by visual simplicity, less details, functionality and convenience. Simplified prints and decorations with folksy notes are key elements of this group. There is almost a rejection of new digital printing technologies and a resurgence of old crafts, like block printing.

Despite their simplicity, the fabrics in this group are decorated with embroidery, flowery prints, laces, padding and needle punching. There is an element of suppleness, of stretchy qualities that remind us of bubble gum. Expanded fabrics also become softer and decorated with quilting effects or embossing.

Chaotic Allure expresses a new primitive spirit, characterized by raw, unfinished qualities. A notion of new naturality seems to define these fabrics, with clashing mixes and unusual handles. Hairs and furs with very fake effects are key to this group, along with disheveled knits and torn, hairy fabrics.

Sensory contradictions also play an important role: rough looking fabrics often feel very soft and luxurious at the touch, primitive and futuristic elements merge together to create new hybrids, dense, muddy textures beautifully coat intricate laces. The print patterns are very energetic and raw, in striding, almost violent colours. The silhouettes of this group are very simple, decisive and severe. Basic, rough cuts with no linings let the beauty of the material shine.

Knitwear Focus

All the garments in this exhibition were designed in response to the main trends and were roughly grouped according to some of the most salient elements relating to each group.

Despite the rich visual inspiration that oozed from the mood boards of the main trends, Knitwear Focus had a very commercial, almost dry atmosphere. Experiments with new stitch structures or other techniques seemed sporadic, at times repetitive and a bit too safe and conventional. Here are some of the key elements suggested in the exhibition that will define knitwear for a/w 15-16:

Augmented Volumes. As the name suggests, this group featured sculptural knits where experimental structures could be explored further using innovative technologies and finishing techniques from the manufacturers at the show. Unfortunately the research was limited to some ripple stitches that were placed in very obvious places, like the shoulder of a raglan sweater or the sides of a garment, in an attempt to accentuate the female silhouette.

Textural Aran stitches in heavier gauges were also quite predictable and did not show a more contemporary interpretation of this technique. Volume was created with a combination of blister stitches and quilted fine gauge fabrics.

The silhouettes of the garments in this group were very basic, with V-neck, crew neck raglan sweaters and cardigans knitted on very fine gauges, along with few heavier pieces. A fitted dress with an oversized panel of ripple stitches enveloping the body seemed a fresher point of departure from the rest of the pieces in the group.

Geometry in Perspective was characterized by graphic, abstract intarsia patterns in fine gauges. Garment patterns were also used decoratively as intarsia designs along with tonal or tricolour jacquards creating 3D effects.

The silhouettes and the colours, mainly grey, Deep Carmine pink and burgundy, were very similar throughout the various group. The illusion of three-dimensionality will be a key aspect not only in the knitwear of this season, but also in the woven and printed fabrics.

Amplified Stitches included garments in heavier gauges (4-5gg) with textured stitches (honeycomb, waffle stitches and bobbles) and big cables.

There were also some interesting pieces with intarsia designs in different stitches and colours that accentuated the feminine silhouette that could have been explored further.

The garments in Redrawn Physique focused on enhancing the feminine silhouette, most of the time in a very conventional manner, but also in a more interesting way that slightly distorted the body through the use of contrasting stitches (alternating single bed with links links, or 1x1 ribs with cardigan stitches) or waist gathers.

The addition of Raised Elements, like appliqués in heavier gauges, engineered textural areas and quilted effects or blister stitches will also be a key aspect of the knitwear for a/w 14-15.

The minimal sartorial rigor that characterises the main fabric trend prediction will also influence knitwear: Structuring Folds embrace the body sculpting it with clean, sharp silhouettes or architectural layers of fabric in multi gauges.

Texprint at Indigo

Texprint, the well established organisation run by industry professionals that supports and mentors newly graduated designers from British schools, presented their awards during Indigo.

All the 24 designers had a chance to show and sell their work during their show, in addition to this some of them were the recipients of some prestigious awards presented this year by Nino Cerruti. Charlotte Beevor, a Printed Textiles and Surface Pattern design graduate from Leeds School of Art, received the Colour Prize for the most innovative used of colour.

Jane Zhang, from The Royal College of Art, was the receipient of the Pattern Prize. Georgia Fisher, a weaver also from the Royal College, was selected for the Space Prize for the best interior fabric design and Federica Tedeschi, a Mixed Media graduate from The Royal College, for the Body Prize (best fashion fabric).