Summer is right around the corner, and as conscious fashion lovers we all know it’s time to restyle our clothes from the previous season.

Ph. Artem Beliaikin (unsplash)

Instead of buying new, why not upcycle some of your winter favourites, into beloved summer pieces.

Here’s what to expect walking into summer and how to rework your winter staples for the season.

Cargo Pants- How Trousers Can Be Your Staple

Ph. Nathan Van De Graaf (Unsplash)

Cargos have been the staple of winter wardrobes. Men and women have been obsessed with the relaxed style, which has been significant since mom and flare jeans overtook skinny jeans. Many different retailers hopped straight on the trend and now shops are filled with the beloved cargo pants. The pants have been such a staple due to the low-rise silhouette, turning your body into an hourglass shape. But individuals seem puzzled of how they can still incorporate cargos on a warm sunny day. Don’t worry, because the rise of cargo pants will still be the hype of this summer. Trade your roll necks and boots, for crop or vest tops and sandals at the flick of a switch, from warm winter trends to hot summer styles.

Make Low Rise Mini Skirts Your Essential

Ph.  Paul Szewczyk (Unsplash)

Low rise mini skirts are a craze for women right now. We have seen them fitted on celebrities like Camila Mendes, Kendall Jenner and Olivia Rodrigo. Micro skirts with a low waistline and a chain belt are so popular, and really do accentuate your body. Show off your inner Britney Spears and Beyonce, when rocking their iconic noughties fashion. It is clearer than ever that women are feeling more empowered. AAnd especially confident and sexy in these little skirts. What better time to get your legs out in the warm summer breeze?  No need to buy more, you can keep your classic black and white skirts from the winter as an essential for your summer looks. Instead of styling them with tights and a long sleeve crop top, trade them in for a sustainable organic cotton tank top.

Goth to Chic In Winter To Summer Style

Ph. Naeim Jafari (Unsplash)

The cliché of the gothic era predominantly consisting of girls wearing dramatic makeup, green hair and fishnets tights is over. You can be just like your beloved A listers; Kourtney Kardashian and Megan Fox who have grabbed gothic style and twisted it into this romantic tailor. They have incorporated the classic colours like black and red and layered it with lace and corsets, creating a sexy piece. Our two gothic idols established their change in fashion after beginning to date gothic rock stars, Travis Barker and Machine Gun Kelly. The old conventions of goth have been changed once and for all, by our beautiful celebrity icons. You can incorporate this into your summer wardrobe by styling black leather shorts with corsets, and carry a leather jacket over the shoulders; simple.

How Colour Clashing Will Brighten Your Wardrobe

Ph. Katsiaryna Endeuszkiewicz (Unsplash)

It's not for everyone, but if you want to turn heads then this style will keep you occupied in the summer. Mix reds with pinks and blues with orange, creating a vibrant summery look. Colour clashing is the ideal statement to make on an everyday occurrence, or when arriving at a party. And what’s more perfect than using colours in the sun. Be the showstopper at every event, and continue to be the ray of sunshine, even if the suns not out. For someone who is more on the girlie side yellows and pinks would be the perfect mix. Team a yellow shift dress with pink sunglasses and open toe sandals, creating a girlie aesthetic. On the other hand, combining blue and orange produces a cool toned, ‘it girl’ vibe. Wear blue camos with an orange tube top and pair with an orange bandana.

It's undeniable that 2000’s trends will continue through this year. So, keep an eye out on the fashion two decades ago, to keep up with the trends.

Trends like these make it easier to rework your winter clothes into solid summer looks that reflect the attitude of what’s hot right now. With a healthy dose of imagination and inspiration, your ensemble can look sassy whilst slowing down consumption, with the added bonus of getting your money's worth from the previous season. 

For more inspiration on sustainable style, why not check your schedule and visit us in London on the 18th June for our first sustainable pop up event showcasing boutiques and suppliers of conscious creations. Head this way to look and book!

The traditional style inspired by Japanese culture combined with the warming comfort of modern Scandinavian design gives you ‘Japandi’. A well-balanced mix of design and taste focused on the common interest in minimalism of these two faraway cultures.

Source: Cultfurniture.com

When the home designs from Japan and Scandinavian countries meet, you have 'Japandi'. Coming from the very antipodes, this interior design is made of balance, harmony and a touch of welcoming warmth.

Based on simplicity and functionality, Japandi has both core elements of Japanese ‘Wabi-Sabi’ meaning– a world view centred on the acceptance of transience and imperfection – and the Scandinavian practice of ‘Hygge’ which is defined as a certain quality of cosiness.

Keep in mind the following elements; organic, clean lines, rattan, bamboo, light/dark woods and functional accessories. Get the idea? A good saying to stick to when creating this stylistic and comforting interior style is ‘Less is more’, keeping your space decluttered and airy is the way forward with Japandi.

Give your dining room a Japandi transformation starting with the basics. Have this colour palette with you – beige to a soft grey – then get ready to fill your baskets with the following: Heaven dining table and the Lund dining chair for all your fine dining needs. The Alma sideboard for storage and a few decorative elements such as Iguaze pendant light, Olbia vase, Marlborough stoneware vase and the Cango table lamp. Combine all these pieces together and your personal touch, then there you have it: your Japandi style dining room!

Source: Cultfurniture.com

Marlborough Stoneware Vase, Taupe £28

Source: Cultfurniture.com

Cango Table Lamp, Bamboo £79

Source: Cultfurniture.com

Iguazu Pendant Light, Jute £159

Alma Sideboard, Oak & Cane £499 

Source: Cultfurniture.com

Heaven Rectangle 8 Seat Dining Table £799

Source: Cultfurniture.com

Lund Dining Chair, Dark Grey & Black £229

Source: Cultfurniture.com

Olbia Round Stoneware Vase, Green £42

At Cult Furniture you can choose from a wide range of modern and contemporary furniture, lighting, and artwork to create the perfect mood and ambience in this new 'Japandi' style.

New year does not always mean new fashion trends. We are entering a time in fashion where micro-trends are going as fast as they have arrived, but some have lasted well over the past year and are expected to continue into 2022.

Courtesy of The-Cøded

Matching Co-ords Are Here To Stay

Throughout the pandemic, co-ordinates have been a popular fashion choice. During the lockdowns, loungewear co-ords were the way to go to feel comfortable and somewhat put together for the endless Zoom meeting from the kitchen table.

When restrictions eased, we were not ready to leave the cute matching two-piece aesthetic at home. So we changed the hoodie and jogger outfits for a more dressed up look. From matching monochromatic tops and skirts to slick blazers and trousers looks have been the go-to look for many.

Both loungewear and party wear co-ords continue to be a favourite in 2022, while we have this hybrid of working from home and socialising with friends. co-ordinates are now a wardrobe staple for all events and will continue to be for quite some time.

2000s Fashion Resurgence Continues

What goes around comes around, and for 2021 it was y2k fashion. It is common for fashion trends to repeat themselves every 20 years, and the 2000s is no exception. Some 2000s trends have stayed in the past like frosted tips, but many have had a modern-day revival.

Some of the firm favourites include the halter tops, baby tees and chunky trainers. In 2022, it is predicted that some more 2000 trends will be at the forefront of fashion. Controversially, this includes low rise jeans, which have already grown in popularity thanks to supermodels Bella Hadid and is predicted to be a hot choice for upcoming fashion weeks.

Sustainable Fashion At The Forefront

Ph. Artem Beliaikin, Unsplash

For many of us, the pandemic made us think more about where our clothes were made – and who really made them. This has changed the way many of us now shop, leading us to more sustainable and ethical shopping brands.

Many of us have also started to create capsule wardrobes, buying high-quality staple items that can be worn again and again.

Companies like THE-CØDED are doing their bit by working directly with clothing manufacturers around the world, ensuring that they receive a fair share of the profits. They also like to highlight their manufacturers and their forward-thinking initiatives for a completely transparent approach to online shopping. Thanks to transparent brands like THE-CØDED, finding information about who made your clothes has never been easier.

Oversized Shirts - A Wardrobe Must Have

Oversized shirts have been a fashion trend for years, and they are not going away anytime soon. Oversized shirts are such a versatile wardrobe piece, with many celebrities, including the Kardashians and Hailey Bieber, opting for the oversized look regularly in their pap shots.

Oversized shirts are a wardrobe staple that works all year round, and similar to 2000s fashion they are predicted to be a large part of runway shows during the upcoming fashion weeks.

Bye-bye Gendered Clothing

Courtesy of The-Cøded

Genderless clothing has been a growing trend on social media, with people wearing what they want regardless of who the clothing is advertised to. Many fashion houses are on board with this, as many runway shows are thought to have both male and female models wearing the same clothing during spring fashion week.

This has already been seen on the high street, with many brands now selling the same clothing in both womenswear and menswear sections – both in stores and online. This includes knitted “grandad” vests, oversized blazers and structured coats.

Overall, 2022 is set to be an interesting year for fashion as consumers are moving away from the constant trend cycle and sticking to wardrobe staples that work for them. We will certainly be thinking more about sustainably made fashion and timeless pieces this year.

What trends will you be getting on board with?

Newsletters are a mine of information and, especially, discounts. With January sales almost upon everyone, knowing who has the most appealing offers is a must before filling our virtual baskets. Market analysis shows you the most generous retailers on the net.

No crystal ball is needed to predict the biggest beauty trends for next year! We have Tia Roqaa, beauty expert and founder of beauty subscription box Roccabox, doing the job for us and sharing her expertise.

Ph. Ron Lach, Pexels

What has the beauty industry in store for us in 2022? Roccabox founder and CEO, Tia Roqaa, foresaw the hottest beauty trends we will see and wear next year.

Tia knows well which products and beauty trends will be hot next and you should not be surprised by her foresight. Tia Roqaa is a real beauty expert, a woman who turned her passion for cosmetics and experience in PR into a curated and elegant beauty experience. In this blog, Tia delighted us with her 2022 beauty predictions.

Themes

Ph. Rodnae Productions, Pexels

“Inclusivity across beauty is really gaining pace, which is great to see. From race to gender, identity to ability, the beauty scene is finally responding to our very unique sets of needs and we’re seeing certain brands becoming genuinely more inclusive – rather than just talking the talk. It’s a conversation consumers have been having behind the scenes for a while, and it’s great to see brands are joining the narrative. At Roccabox we champion and support this movement, having already worked with some beauty brands such as Jecca Blac – a gender-free make-up collection that’s truly authentic and innovative in its brand mission of inclusivity.”

Trends

Image courtesy of Roccabox

“There are plenty of trends within the clean beauty movement that show signs of becoming even bigger and more exciting. I’m looking forward to seeing waterless products grow and innovate. Waterless products are products where the water has been removed which make them more sustainable. Water within a product requires a preservative to prevent bacteria from forming, so immediately you’re taking away the need for this preservative, making a cleaner product. You’re also reducing the need for plastic packaging, making them naturally more environmentally friendly. The result is a formula that is more potent as it’s undiluted.

I also love the growing trend for emo-beauty: products that have an additional impact on our emotional wellbeing as they perform their beauty function. It’s a beauty space with so much potential: in fact, we’re planning a limited edition emo-beauty Roccabox for 2022. I also think our fairly recent interest in scalp-care and our shift in perspective on the importance of treating our scalp for better hair health will continue to grow.”  

Trends To Leave In 2021

“TikTok will remain a fun outlet for showing off beauty tips but I don’t think the beauty trends emerging on the platform will continue to hold much weight. They provided a fun distraction during the 2021 misery of lockdowns but I think in 2022 as lives get busy again we will leave those behind.”

Blue Light

Image courtesy of Roccabox

“Just as we came to understand how the sun damages our skin, and now protect it daily, it’s time to now consider other ways our living environment is impacting our skin and how to better protect it. We work in such a technological era - we’re sat in front of multiple screens for most of the day - so it’s time to adapt our skincare to protect ourselves from its potentially skin-damaging effects. Blue light is now proven to increase inflammation, prevent collagen production, and increase hyperpigmentation, particularly in darker skin tones. Both mainstream and smaller niche brands have already brought out some great protective products but I think we will soon start to see blue light protection added commonly to our daily moisturiser – in the same way, SPF is often added. I also think additional protective products, such as serums that offer blue light protection will become far more available, with brands offering us greater choice.”

Nostalgia Beauty

Image courtesy of Roccabox

“The emerging makeup nostalgia trends seem to be all about being as extra as possible: I think it’s a natural reaction to us all socialising again, and wearing all the make-up we sent into hibernation for a year! In 2022 I think we will see elements from different decades that favour high-octane glamour, look-at-me colour and playful looks. So for example high-shine plastic-looking glossy lips will be huge next year: a look that is borrowed from the ‘90s, ‘80s and the disco ‘70s. High-shine nude, lacquered red, vinyl berry tones: we’ll see it all next Spring. Victoria Beckham does a great line in super-glossy clear lip gloss, which we’ve been raving over at Roccabox, as does Fenty Beauty. I also love MAC’s range of lip glosses, including their classic Lipglass.”

Less Is More

“For many reasons, we’re seeing consumers looking to scale down their skincare and reduce the amount of products they use. We’re craving a ‘less is more’ approach to skincare right now and I believe this will continue. It’s going to call the beauty industry into creating more streamlined product lines, for sure, but just because we’re favouring a more simple and more gentle approach to skincare doesn’t mean we don’t expect to see the same results. So I expect brands will create more hybrid multi-functional products and will create cleaner formulas to reduce the chemical load we’re applying to our skin.”

Shopping Online

Image courtesy of Roccabox

“The online beauty shopping experience has definitely improved - online beauty retailers really had to up their game over these last 18 months and now shopping for both make-up and skincare online is no longer as challenging as it once was. Ingredients-search tools are always a handy way to navigate skincare purchasing and a good starting point for skincare shopping. Sites with visible independent reviews of products play an important role too, as customers often want to know how other consumers found the product in real life.

Colour-matching can be tricky online but I’ve seen some really innovative and effective colour-matching options on independent brand websites – the ‘find my shade’ option on ILIA’s website for example is particularly effective: it cleverly gives examples of hair and eye colour, as well as undertone, to help you determine your most seamless skin tone match.”

In 2022, the beauty industry will continue along the path toward inclusivity and holistic wellbeing seen during the pandemic. How Roccabox will reflect the new state of things in 2022? We asked Tia again...

Image courtesy of Roccabox

Roccabox 2022

“We’ve confirmed some of my personal favourite brands for 2022 – including Murad and Oskia. We have some incredible limited edition boxes in the pipeline – I can’t reveal much but they include some brand exclusives with a handful of hero brands that I think many of our customers will be really surprised to see! Our monthly boxes will continue to introduce our customers to really effective, results-driven skincare brands. This will include cosmeceutical brands, such as Doctors Formula, which we’ve already started to introduce our customers to – their products are second to none for seeing a genuine change in your skin. We know our customers might not otherwise have discovered this type of beauty brand, or they might have been reluctant to invest in their products given their higher price point, so we think what we do and whom we introduce customers to is really important.

We also plan to introduce our customers to the skincare ingredients that are set to be huge in 2022 – niacinamide is one that springs to mind – with ingredient-focused products that our team of experts have chosen for our boxes because they truly live up to the hype. I’m also really excited about the themes of our boxes for next year: I don’t want to give away any spoilers but the concepts we’ve chosen really tap into what customers are looking for in their beauty purchases right now.”

Meanwhile, In This Month's Roccabox...

Image courtesy of Roccabox

December Roccabox is the editors' wishlist in a box. This month's beauty box contains three full-sized products from brands Laritzy, Doctors Formula and Figs & Rouge, and two deluxe mini samples. This skincare and makeup chest is worth £180 and available for just £15. The beauty experts at Roccabox put these five products together after a year of testing and digging into the best and newest from the industry. December Roccabox 'Winter Wishlist' is all a beauty enthusiast would like for a glowy complexion ready to party and face the cold.

Roccabox monthly boxes and limited-edition boxes are available to purchase online starting from £15. (roccabox.co.uk)

PrettyLittleThing helps us get into the right festive spirit with its latest campaign: ‘Them’. The new PLT collection celebrates everybody during the holiday season with models including he/she/they A’whora, known to the public for competing in the second season of Drag Race UK.

Beauty: a celebration of our truest selves through the playful use of colours. This is OPV Beauty, the house of all-inclusive and kaleidoscopically explosive makeup palettes.

The public concern about the state of the environment is not a temporary fashion trend, although they influence how people shop and what they ask their favourite brands.

On Oxford Street, the Capital's shopping avenue, a corner shop like no other made its temporary appearance. LTK celebrated its relaunch and makeover with this peculiar pop-up space and a panel to discuss the future of retail and the role of content creators.

Image courtesy of LTK

Fashions Finest team stepped into LTK abstract store for an exclusive panel discussion with LTK co-founder, Amber Venz Box, Vicky James, head of brand marketing at Missguided, and LTK creators Mollie Campsie, Louisa Hatt, and Josie LDN.

The world is literally in the palm of our hands as many actions can be taken with a simple tap, including shopping. The pop-up space in Oxford Street had a door like many other stores but the QR codes stuck on the window opened the real shop for us. This is a very peculiar 'store': LTK.

LTK Creator Shops in Oxford Street. Ph. V. Chirico

A popular name among the youngest and social addicted, LTK - formerly known as LikeToKnowIt - was founded in 2010 by Amber Venz Box and her then-boyfriend, now husband, engineer Baxter Box. Back at that time, blogging was an enjoyable hobby but the couple managed to turn Amber's passion for blogging and fashion into a means of living. With the monetisation platform rewardStyle first and the app LikeToKnowIt soon after, the Boxs changed the way people shop online forever but also, and especially, the way people source for inspiration.

At the LTK exclusive panel discussion with Missguided: 'The Role of Creator Commerce in Retail'

The panel discussion hosted by Robin Ward, head of sales at LTK, delved into this topic and explored today's shopping landscape brought by LTK with the four panellists.

What Is LTK And How It Works

LTK is an app and platform where content creators - bloggers or influencers - brands and the audience meet, creating a virtual space beneficial for the creators and helpful for the shoppers.

LTK inglobes Amber Venz Box and Baxter Box's brainchildren: rewardStyle and LikeToKnowIt. Ever wondered what the person next door, more realistically an influencer or a celeb, is wearing? LTK answers that question for you. You can tell this is a winning idea by its long 'shelf life'. Ten years of LKT suggests it is a brilliant concept with a real purpose. It could not be otherwise. Amber, a former personal shopper and fashion-obsessed from Dallas, knows the market as she turned her free shopping services as a blogger into an empire with 350 people working with her all over the globe.

CEO and Co-founder of LTK, Amber Venz Box

What Amber knows is that people do find shopping-related content entertaining and they actually spend on goods worth 10$ billion dollars after social recommendations by LTK creators. However, she is also well aware of the short lifespan of online content and the many new platforms launched every single year. Not so many 'spaghetti stick on the walls' and content is easily forgotten, lost under a shower of freshly made posts. The new updates implemented the LTK platform with helpful features for both the influencers and users. LTK creators will have a creator shop, a technology with marketing built-in, and access to analytics. Analytics are not just addicting and fun to explore, as noted by Molly, but also 'keep you in touch with your audience' - added Josie

LTK Makeover: New Functions For Your Experience

The LTK updates were made to create an 'elegant shopping experience' (Amber). Old and new uses can find now a richer tool to fish for inspiration and then shop online. The new LTK app features:

• Price drop alerts - Real-time notifications telling shoppers when one of their saved items or something in their wish list goes on sale.
• Automatic follows - A new function allowing users to follow a creator's LTK Shop automatically when they click through to any creator LTK post from Instagram or any other social media.
• Home screen badges - A little badge appearing on a creator’s avatar, showing how many new posts are waiting to be seen
• Gift Guides - A separate section for festive shopping (i.e. Christmas, Black Friday and Cyber Week) with gift guides within creator LTK profiles.
• Search filters - A much-awaited function to filter by brand name and media type on a creator’s LTK Shop.
• Localisation - Shoppers in the UK are now immediately recommended UK-creator content first in product search.

Asked by Robin on the meaning of influencer marketing, the panellists explored the role of influencers in today's virtual landscape by recalling their personal paths (Mollie, Louisa and Josie) and what is the relationship between brands and creators (Vicky).

LTK creator Mollie Campsie, Vicky James next to her

Coming from different backgrounds and representing different niches, the panellists offered a larger spectrum of opinions on the matter. For Mollie, a former plus-size model who joined LTK 18 months ago, 'an influencer is somebody in a given space - which for me was cut due to my size - (someone) who has authority in that space and who is able to influence purchasing decisions and add value to their audience.'

LTK creator Louisa Hatt shares her view and experience

Louisa, from Edinburgh and in LTK for 18 months, shared the same vision and deepened the view by pointing at 'trust and credibility', two strengths and essential components in the emerging role of influencers. Trust, authority, credibility, engagement, and humanity have been highlighted throughout the discussion.

LTK creator Josie LDN
Josie, who has a background in marketing, knows that marketers have to count every pound spent in their campaigns and found the positive side of being a creator as 'she can truck what she invests in because it is all digital.' She has been with LTK for seven years when the platform for influencers was called rewardStyle.
'Every penny has to make worth a pound', Vicky agreed with her and moved on by offering her experience as the voice of a brand dealing with the 'new brands', the creators. A brand like Missguided seized this new opportunity. Influencers' creative works can actually benefit different areas of marketing. In fact, the brand has been engaging with creators as a catalyst during that time when working from home made shooting particularly difficult to organise. Creators provided new content from different points of view as well as a source of inspiration for styling.

Robin Ward, head of Sales at LTK, hosts the panel

What emerged during the panel - probably the most relevant conversation topic for us at Fashions Finest - is inclusivity. Influencers and content creators are people like us and represent the variety of today's society with its different social, aesthetic and ethnic backgrounds. Mollie is sorting problems for many women who do not feel represented by models at all. Her activity has something emotional for her, 'it humanises everything which is the core of what influencer marketing is'. Louisa has never seen herself as a brand until other fellow creators suggested to her some products which might have been suitable for her personal style. That ordinary experience opened her eyes but it was the collaboration request from a British traditional heritage fashion label that brought her to a new realisation. People got back in touch to tell her they finally saw themselves in the brand's wealthy style code.

Content creators may have a privileged relationship with brands and enjoy enviable attention but what they really do is give voice and space to the real people. Creators are not models, they stand for those who were invisible in the media and marketing products ten years ago.

After London, LTK is planning to open more pop-up spaces around the globe (image courtesy of LTK)

When questioned by Robin, Vicky sounded quite comfortable with the statement 'creators are the new brands': 'as a brand, collaborating with creators strengthens your own brand. They are that authentic voice that people are looking for'.
'Creators are filling that gap between consumers and commas', added Josie. Creators like Josie, Mollie, and Louisa do something they love and, Josie continued 'while doing something you love, you do not realise but you are building this incredible relatable organic brand'.
Josie is not wrong at all. The equation is real and actual: 'creators are the new retailers; they are the ones curating new products for their followers', stated Amber while introducing us to LTK new makeover. Content creators are not competing with brands but they are now recognised as perfect partners and an endless source of inspiration for shoppers who finally find shapes and personalities closer to them.

LTK proved to foresee the change and shape the industry, surviving the coming-and-going destiny of all digital products. What we can wish for in the future is a democratic market, a fashion reality open to everyone and we can feel it is already happening.

Luxury textile designer, Araminta Campbell, a leader in her field launches her alpaca line as part of the Heritage collection, showcasing how luxury can be both stylish and sustainable at the same time.