Stylus at Design London: Colour & Materials Trends for Spring/Summer 2024

Stylus at Design London: Colour & Materials Trends for Spring/Summer 2024

On Friday last week, our head of Colour & Materials, Lauren Chiu , and content director and sustainability lead, Emily Gordon-Smith , took to the stage at London Design Festival to share three distinct aesthetic trends set to influence the Spring/Summer 2024 season.

Read on for more detail on the primary influences, colour palettes and material innovations surrounding these trends, as revealed by the creative, tech and science industries.

"What we think is so refreshing about this season are those energising, vibrant hues and gentle, mellow pastels that feel uplifting and reassuring as we look to the future."

– Lauren Chiu, Head of Colour & Materials, Stylus

Soft Surrealism

Chiu explained that this trend is inspired by consumers with an escapist mindset, who use whimsy and fantasy as a coping mechanism for everyday life. Its ethereal, romantic palette balances dreamlike, hazy colours with fantastical pigments – like soothing blues that emulate tranquil waters and skies, vivid surrealist purples, and comforting earthen yellows and browns.

Highlighting some of the ways in which businesses could embrace this direction, Chiu said: “With the theme of 'whimsical and dreamlike', you could take that [in] two ways: you could go down the really calm route of dreamlike – or go with whimsical, which becomes more expressive, but still has that fantasy look." She suggested that glass and metal are perfect materials for creating imaginative products across fashion and interiors, like accessories, jewellery and tableware.

Other ideas included revisiting classic design styles – as the enduring qualities of timeless and seminal design evoke stability and permanence in a fast-paced world – and fostering healing with holistic therapies. She called healing and recovery key healthcare concerns, with environments and products dedicated to mental health and mindfulness helping people cope with negative emotions and stress.

Above: Imaginative, novel glass lighting from Artemide, as seen at Design London 2022.

Clean Reset

Outlining the driving force behind the next trend, Chiu identified an urban, agile and astute set of consumers who are highly conscious of their impact on an increasingly unstable planet, and collaborative in their efforts to secure a safer world for all. Comprising minimal white tones that reflect simplicity and clarity, hot solar reds, and cool blues, cyans and greens that vitalise and uplift, the refreshing and energising bright palette communicates action, resilience and new beginnings.

Gordon-Smith called Clean Reset a minimalist trend: “Traditionally, minimalism had a luxury edge to it and was more about aesthetic values. I think new minimalism is more about pragmatism, functionality, and the resourcefulness that's essential in how we're designing."

Reimagining minimalism is one of the ideas connected to this direction’s theme. This includes drawing inspiration from creatives who are already developing a clean, minimal aesthetic, with smart yet simple designs that are visually pleasing. Additionally, geometric symmetry, neat repetitive patterns, and flat, opaque colours in matte or gloss finishes also demonstrate how this trend could manifest – bringing visual interest to hard surfaces and pleasing order to the mind.

Chiu also touched on resourcefulness, and modular and adaptive designs – both of which promote circularity, reuse and waste elimination. Key examples include scraps of industrial steel; energy-harvesting technologies, like coatings that exploit solar light to moderate building temperatures; and inventive waste management. Reflecting these ideas, solar-powered fashion and accessories will soon become desirable products, rather than purely functional tech.

Above: Resourcefulness at play in this laser-cut aluminium furniture from Six Dots Design, an exhibitor at Design London 2022.

Neo Nature

Rounding off the three directions, Gordon-Smith described Neo Nature as "your adventure playground”: “You can go wild with abstract form, [an] incredible mish-mash of print and pattern. It's where you can have the fun." Adding to this, Chiu said: "To balance that fun, it's very nature-focused, so think about biophilic design: things like irregularities in patterns and textures, and slubby materials."

Noting its strikingly different appearance and tone to the other trends, Chiu said this direction’s influence came from consumers who seek satisfaction and fulfilment in outdoor recreational activities, are highly empathetic towards the living world, are fascinated by the supernatural, and enjoy fantasy gaming. The palette she presented was full of energy, comprising heightened pinks and glowing greens with psychedelic appeal, as well as vegetal shades that are grounding and nourishing.

To leverage this direction, she suggested enchanting consumers with mythical and magical themes, as the obsession with nature, supernatural legends and tales intensifies. This can be achieved by creating fantastical, immersive virtual reality experiences and installations. Building on this, Gordon-Smith said: "Aesthetics have been a let-down in digital design to date. But we're starting to see it become more credible and relevant.”

Other ideas focused on embracing untamed aesthetics, which speaks to the unruly visual direction influenced by the weird, wonderful and wild aspects of nature. Chiu cited examples of weighty, woven textiles, abstract topographies, and inspiring and influential nature-centric design. The latter homes in on an important message: it’s essential we all become more environment-focused, so that in the future, we can continue to work with – and not against – the climate.

?Above: New Terracotta on show at Design London 2022,?a company embracing irregular edges, corrugated surfaces, and small imperfections for unique pieces that speak to the theme of untamed aesthetics.

As inspired members of the audience snapped photos of the visual examples on their phones, Chiu laced all three trends together, and brought the room back to the key underpinning driver behind the behaviours, thoughts and feelings of future consumers:

"What unites these three trends is that, in an increasingly volatile and unpredictable world, consumers are looking for a greater sense of wellbeing, stability and connection, but also new ways to feel joy and delight."

– Lauren Chiu, Head of Colour & Materials, Stylus

The trends discussed at this talk provided a valuable insight into the future direction of colour and materials across industries. Stylus can paint you a bigger picture: members can access the full Colour Spectrum S/S 2024 and the newly dropped Colour Spectrum A/W 24/25 Preview. The Autumn/Winter 24/25 Spectrum and Directions will publish on October 4.

Not yet a Stylus member? You can see our experts in discussion by keeping an eye on the Stylus events schedule here.