Trends for 2012

Bikes The year of the weekend gateway 2012 will be the year of the weekend getaway--venturing out of the city early and often to escape the boardroom and urban grind. People will look towards indulging in premium riding and travel experiences with family and friends. As we see more and more riders extend their weekly trips on Sunday morning to full weekend escapes, and epic week-long journeys, what you ride will be as important as where you go and with whom you travel. We are already witnessing some interesting trends in terms of design and styling in the premium motorcycle segment. One is the demand for classic global models. With more choice now in the market, discerning buyers will migrate towards globally proven iconic models from trusted brands. Along with the right look, sound and feel of the motorcycle, riders will demand stability for the highways and comfort for their loved ones riding pillion. The other trend which is starting to catch-up fast is customization. Being able to select accessories that reflect your individual style will be an important part of the ownership experience, especially when it comes to colour, fit and performance, as demonstrated at this year's Delhi auto expo. Designs that resonate well will be those with classic paint schemes and fluid lines, with high-quality leather and chrome accents. As told to Neil Rodricks via email CLoThIng There will be emphasis on richness of the material Zegna Amid the top trends for spring- summer 2012, focus will be on the richness of the material and comfortable clothing. Colour blocking is another trend that has come up recently and we see it picking up pace this year. It can be within the same garment or differently coloured separates. People are also looking for clothes with a wrinkled effect. Seersucker (a thin, puckered, all-cotton fabric, commonly striped or checkered) with shine and other such materials will be in top demand. Moving to the luxury segment, premium fibre blends with silk will be hot. In casual wear, like before, whites and black overall looks will be the dominant trend. Polo T-shirts, like always, will be one of the top picks. Talking about the colours, there are some very clear palettes we see. Blue, red, green, white and beige (preppy); grey, light blue and Prussian red (conventional preppy); brown, ink blue and pink (urban and trendy); and neutral, white, water and light grey (summer colours) will be the trending palettes. Above all, pure silk has been developed and treated to produce interesting tactile effects: shiny and matte, ironed and creased, organic and super-technical. As told to Pradip Kumar Saha by a company spokesperson via email WaTChes Men's watches are going back to classic 2 012 is going to be another year of steady growth. I don't think the Indian market for luxury goods in general and luxury watches in particular will be hurt at all by the macroeconomic slowdown. The market for luxury watches will continue to grow at the current pace of 20% year-on-year in 2012. There are a couple of very clear trends that are emerging. One is back to classic. The past five years were dominated by extremely large sTand-ouT Trend of 2012: Mechanical watches in the range of 43mm, case in rose gold, dial in various shades of mother of pearl and brown. and thick, in-the- face watches. That is changing and watches are going back to classic, which means simpler dials, not necessarily smaller but not outsized any more, and getting thinner. And above all, there is a simplicity on the face of the watch. The trend in ladies' watches is somehow completely opposite. They are getting bigger. Another trend specific to India is that men are opting for mechanical watches. And, at the extreme high end of luxury, people want something very exclusive. In term of colours, new shades are coming up. For example, we now have various shades of mother of pearl. It's not just pink and white any more. There are various new shades coming up even in the men's segment. Another colour that will be very popular this year is chocolate. Pink gold (or rose gold) is going to be the rage. Yellow gold is out of favour, and the other thing that's going to happen to gold in India is that the demand for white gold will pick up. And white gold has never been popular here. That will eventually lead to platinum.