Trend: The return of millennial pink in menswear

Colors are always coming in and out of trend to the point where we’ve seen specific shades come back to popularity. One hue in particular dominated arrivals for many seasons and it’s now back on trend. And yes, it’s millennial pink again. So here are four reasons why retailers can’t get enough of pink backed with data.

1. It's back on the runway

The rise in pink has been prevalent within designer collections over the last three seasons. This is encouraging evidence to back up its staying power. Along with this growth, the most recent sping/summer 2020 season saw Louis Vuitton, with influential Virgil Abloh at the helm, put pink back on the map. Bubblegum hues and softer shades dominated, but pops of fuchsia were not to go unnoticed. Seen across all categories, and as far as favorites go, outerwear was of particular note with transitional styles including bombers and lightweight field jackets.

2. A clear rise in investments

New in products dropped quite dramatically moving from spring/summer 2018 to fall/winter 2018/2019 - 10 percent more compared to the end of spring/summer 2017. A decline in popularity across a variety of channels led to fewer retailers investing for fall/winter 2018 and early spring/summer 2019. However, thanks to external social influences, including the rise of tie-dye and celeb backing, retailers responded by ramping up investments to capitalize on the trend. In turn we’ve also seen a drop in the proportion of products discounted. Currently, spring/summer 2019 pink arrivals have fewer products discounted at a lower average compared to red, green, yellow and orange.

3. High SKU activity

Millennial pink is by no means a newcomer this season. In fact, the shade is finding successful SKU activity with silhouettes from hoodies to denim truckers. Zara interpreted the shade into one of its basic T-shirt silhouettes while fast-fashion retailer boohoo opted for a hoodie with sleeve-taping that was also successful.

4. The resurgence of nostalgia

Nostalgic and 90s looks have increased in popularity over the past few seasons with trends ranging from fanny packs to cargo pants reappearing. Seen at Stella McCartney and Prada, tie-dye, is another throwback trend exploding in the market. The hippy print has found massive success this Spring on long-sleeve shirts and tees. Millennial pink has transcended from today's tie-dye stories and into retailers' social media pushes and top moving products. From pastels at ASOS to animal prints at Forever 21, co-ords are another 90s trend achieving sell outs in millennial pink shades. Fitting right in with festival edits, the color continues to showcase its staying power.

This article was written for FashionUnited by Krista Corrigan & Tara Drury of Edited. Edited is the leader and industry-standard for real-time retail analytics, where the software leverages artificial intelligence to track and reveal insights on competitor product ranges, pricing, discounting and trends across the global retail landscape. The software is used by buyers, planners and trading teams to generate a huge competitive advantage.

Homepage photo: Louis Vuitton menswear, spring / summer 2020, Catwalk Pictures