2024/2025 Trends
Material Trend Report: Experimental Knitwear
As the mainstream fashion consumer faces the apex of the sustainability movement and resistance against fast fashion, we, in conjunction, embrace the tradition of handmade goods. With craftsmanship and authenticity being the two pillars of quality today, it comes at no surprise that handmade knitwear and crochet is on the rise in popularity. Alongside the eco-conscious advantages, the ancient hobby of knitting and crochet saw a resurgence in Gen Z around 2020 during the pandemic, as many picked up the craft in their newfound spare time. Now, looking forward to 2024, the trend has gained traction rapidly and is evolving even quicker. We’ve seen quality knits before, but after this season’s runway and street style looks, it is obvious that the trend of A/W 24/25 is distressed, freehand, and experimental knits and crochet looks accompanied. Consequently, we will definitely be seeing more knit-based textiles, more natural fibres like wool and cotton, softer textures, and more delicate patterns that resemble crochet and knitting patterns.
We see the first example of this in Loewe’s recent S/S 2024 Ready-to-Wear with Jonathan Anderson’s work. The look features a thick wool-like material and a repeating pattern that resembles traditional knitting patterns. Anderson has reinvented the basic chunky knit by reimagining this familiar texture, as shown below:
An additional example of experimental knitwear is seen in Moschino 2023 Resort with Jeremy Scott’s usage of freehand crochet in the collection, as shown below. Bold, garish, and new, this technique takes the common association of knitwear as a basic and turns it on its head. Instead, this innovative usage of freehand patterns offers a playful allure. The look features soft, flowy textures and yarns as well as the innovative usage of the granny square crochet technique that, when combined with the other elements, create the freehand crochet style, as shown below:
Finally, we see a unique usage of knitwear in recent street styles. Shown below in a photo from Phil Oh’s work with Vogue for “Best Street Style Photos” of Paris Fashion Week 2024, the individual on the left dons a delicate knit sweater styled as a midi skirt. The piece features soft yarns that appear to be cotton. The pattern resembles traditional doily-like knitting patterns. This look stands out for this out-of-the box twist on knitwear.
With these three examples, it is obvious that experimental knitwear and crochet will continue to grow and evolve this season. No longer is knit a basic for those that know how to innovate. Instead, we look toward the A/W 24/25 season anticipating the continuation of this trend of unique styling of knits, playful knit silhouettes, and more avante-garde knit techniques alongside natural fibres, softer textures, and traditional knitwear patterns.
