Summer is probably the season with most versatile options when it comes to clothing. With the hot weather comes the opportunity to exercise your new summer style, try new trends, follow works of up and coming designers and finally get to dress in light, flowy and beachy seductive and always staying sophisticated to classy.

Just as every other season of every other year has its trend, same happens with the summer. Thanks to fashion designers who work on their collections with dedication, experimenting with new ideas and reviving old fashion traditions, we are given an array of options to love and choose from.

Working with more designers than I can count, I’ve seen some changes going about, especially when it comes to pieces that will be the absolute hit this year. As a stylist, I’ve seen trends come and go, fashion celebrating or mocking current social world situations, fashion taking long forgotten fashion trends and giving them a modern spin, etc. What came as a slight surprise this year is the evident rise of Asian inspired clothing pieces.

This Asian-inspired fashion has both to do with the rich Asian culture and the Asian market, which, now more than ever, got increasingly important to the business of fashion.

The increasing presence of models, designers, business moguls and consumers from Asian countries brought awareness of the need to both satisfy the Asian buyer and work on fusion of Asia-inspired fashion traditions and current, West-dictated ideas.

This is what you are to expect for the upcoming season:

1. Florals

While floral designs aren’t a novelty in any way, when it comes to Asian culture, this trend is nothing like a Western-exercised floral pattern. Asian flowers are specific in shape, size and style and for anyone who knows fashion, they are a real stand out piece. This is why designers embracing Asian inspired trends feature a lot of floral patterns, in such a way celebrating the uniqueness of Asian history. 

2. Kimonos

Exotic and seductive, kimonos have long been a thing of in-door fashion. There is rarely any girl who didn’t have at least one kimono in her closet, ready to be worn whenever that hint of lush, rich and seductive note is needed. However, fashion designers are now taking the kimono out of the closets and sporting them right there in the streets. Rich in texture, color, design and pattern, kimonos will be a definite hit for the upcoming season!

The same goes for structured judo jackets.

3. Layers

The range of Asian fashion designers have a big presence on the Western scene. And while they have in large adapted to the popular fashion of this side of the Globe, they have brought their national heritage with them and managed to fuse it so well with whatever it is that they found here. This resulted in wonderful Asian-inspired cuts that are evident in layered, belted looks with structure and sophistication. time-honored Asian silhouettes with splashes of color and unusual accessorize, celebrating traditional Japanese and Chinese femininity with structure and sophistication are definitely the hit looks we will all love this season!

Fashion is sure to continue with the blend of cultures and drawing on global inspirations well into next season. As a stylist, I’ll advise you to take the best and personally most fitting from all trends, blend it and create your personal, unique style!

*Article written by Peter Minkoff, a fashion stylist and writer from Brisbane, Australia.