Five Hot Trends in Decorated Apparel

Staying on the cutting edge of the latest trends isn’t always easy, but it always pays off.
March 7, 2008

The hottest color palette for 2008 is brights such as yellow, orange, lime, and fuchsia. Expect to see an abundance of these colors in men's and women's styles such as T-shirts, tank tops, and women's fashion tops. These shirts from Royal Apparel are made of 1x1 baby rib and come in 28 colors.

By Morey Mayeri

Often when customers come into a decorator’s shop to order decorated apparel, they want advice or suggestions from you, the expert. A great way to track trends is to watch the local high schools let out each day, walk around the mall, or watch MTV or reality shows to see what the kids are wearing. Here are five hot trends I'm seeing as a supplier of blank fashion apparel and a high-volume screen printer.

1. Soft Hand
The most prevalent trend in apparel today, whether it’s the garment itself or the decorating process, is the demand for the softest possible hand. Garments made out of fine jersey, bamboo or sheer fabrics are highly prized for their buttery soft feel against the skin. Ring-spun and Pima cottons are increasing in popularity because of their softness, and these fabrics are made even softer with the use of special treatments and finer gauge threads such as 30/1 and 40/1 singles.

On the decorating side, water-based inks and discharge are being used to create the softest prints. New techniques using water-based inks as well as ink additives have been developed to make the feel of a screen print almost indistinguishable. Discharge inks, which literally remove the dye from the garment, which is then overprinted with a water-base ink, also creates an incredibly smooth, soft hand.

2. Burnout
Burnout is a chemical process used on garments made of cotton/polyester blends. The chemical essentially “eats” the cotton, leaving a web-like pattern through the shirt to give it the popular distressed or vintage look. It is done all over shirts to create a worn look, or done via the screen printing process so that just a portion of the shirt features the burnout. It’s hot with younger demographics, for urban apparel and for concert shirts.

3. Organic
There is no way to measure the explosion being seen in environmentally friendly products in recent months and organic cotton is leading the way. While it once was sought after mostly by health food stores, recycling centers and other environmentally conscious groups, mainstream America is getting on the bandwagon and most suppliers can’t keep organic cotton apparel in stock.

The biggest trend in organic cotton, which originally was only available in natural, is colors. New colors are being added on a regular basis and as well as a broader range of styles. Look for this category to grow significantly in 2008. Also look for more environmentally friendly ways of dyeing garments, including the use of vegetable dyes to create colors.

4. Heathers
Based on continuing popularity of retro, heather shirts, made of a cotton/polyester blend, are making a strong comeback. Whether in a basic T-shirt, a ringer style that has contrasting trim on the neck and sleeves, or the classic three-quarter sleeve baseball jersey, heather fabric is guaranteed to be a strong seller in 2008.

5. Color Shifts
Brights are back. Having just come back from MAGIC in Las Vegas, it was obvious that colors such as lime, orange, neon yellow and fuchsia are going to be the dominant color palette for 2008. Expect to see these flashy shades in T-shirts, tank tops and girls’ fashion tops that will be glitzed up with metallic and glitter inks, rhinestones and studs.

While bright colors are leading the way in the fashion arena, earth tones are still holding ground in other markets — especially urban, hip-hop, environmental and military. Chocolate, sand, asphalt, moss, military green and black have increased in popularity in the past year, and suppliers are adding a wider range for customers to choose from. Tone- on-tone printing and embroidery also are popular in this category.

Morey Mayeri is president of Royal Apparel, a New York-based manufacturer of basic and fashion forward blank garments for the decorated apparel industry, including a line of 100% organic cotton apparel that is made in the USA. He also operates a screen printing business, which requires him to stay on top of the latest decorating trends. Royal Apparel is one of the more than 300 companies exhibiting this week at the Imprinted Sportswear Show in Atlantic City, N.J.

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