New for AW 2021/22: Grit and Swansong 

As with all trends, Grit follows the third law of motion: for every action there is always an equal reaction, and here, the action in question is the debate around gender identity. In the wake of the increasingly loud voice of feminist dissension, traditional ideology around masculinity is being challenged. Yet at the same time elements of extreme masculinity are becoming openly fetishised.

In Grit hyper-masculinity is explored through drama, politics and extreme wellness. This is however, a story of gender parity, as many of these influences are appropriated by women subverting the traditional archetypes.

Darker yet, an end-of-days and decadent fatalism is explored in Swansong with nostalgic references to past times on the brink of disaster. Our current collective sense of unease inevitably leads to comparisons with periods where the world seemed to teeter on the edge of self-destruction, from Berlin and Shanghai in the 30's to the last days of disco.

On the surface Swansong sparkles with an opulent and exotic aesthetic. Yet for all its glitter and glamour, this is a brave and brittle honouring of liberalism and creativity, tinged with sadness and foreboding.

In addition to the trend drivers that give context to our forecast, design editorial and interviews, this issue also features special focus on mobility and transport. Our Colour Now section takes a look at the early adopters of our AW 2020/21 Scuff and Ritual stories.

For our AW 2021/22 issue of MIX Magazine 58, our digital archive, in-depth bi-annual Colour, Material and Finish forecasts and more, become a Colour Hive member today.