The Future Of Denim: Wine Jeans, Color-Changing Mood Pants, And Jeathers

The Denim by Première Vision trade fair just ended, and trend forecasters are predicting what's going to be hot in the coming months. The influences? Celine's fall show, '70s Biba, and trouser-styles—which manifested itself into the fair's top trends: Black denim, mirrored surfaces, denim shirting, and draped denim. If this sounds like a whole lot o' horror, read on. "Especially for girls, we'll see low-crotch, carrot styles" says Robert Jonsson, head of fabric and wash development for H&M (On the other side of the pond, Topshop's working on velvet jeans). Japan's Kurabo has developed an "emotional jean" that changes color based on your body heat (we can imagine a few awkward situations that might arise from this), and South Korea's Eco Yaa have created non-chafing jeans made possible by wine tannin and grape callus extracts. And in another foray into annoying denim verbiage is the new "jeather" pant created by Isko, that makes jeans that have a leather-like finish. As for your skinny jeans, breathe easy. Industry experts predict they'll stay in style for at least another three years. (WWD)