Baby & Kids Trend Digest: Autumn Winter 2023/24

This season, the looming realities of the climate crisis underpin two main themes for children and families: feeling the pull between a fierce and proactive protection of the environment, and a desire to become deeply immersed within the virtual realm. It is upon this tension that our four baby and kids trend stories are built for Autumn/Winter 2023/24.

Published back in 2021, we introduce our Baby & Kids Trend Digest featuring one of four trends from our Autumn Winter 2023/24 seasonal trend forecast; Build Us Up. Access the full Baby & Kids trend digest report when you subscribe to our Basic membership of our trend subscription service, My TrendBible.

Build Us Up

Despite growing up in a world shaped by crisis, for Autumn Winter 2023/24 the resilient youth remain hopeful about their future. Ready to learn and unwilling to wait, this story sees ambitious children take matters into their own hands, using creative problem-solving and a pro-active spirit to build themselves a better world.

The re-evaluation of future job prospects and the steer away from traditional academic paths is sparking new trade aspirations, with 61% of Gen Z believing a skills-based education makes sense in today’s world. Alongside job opportunities and a desire for security, it is the Minecraft effect that is piquing interest in skilled trades, as a new wave of creative builders transcends their ability to control, create and rebuild into real-world thinking.

Punchy Primary Brights

Positivity radiates from the palette which pairs punchy primary brights with rusty burnt tones for an autumnal feel. Bold, blocky and interconnecting shapes in textile patterns are fizzing with energy and movement in complementary shades like lilac and orange. This well-balanced and truly unisex palette offers both practicality and positivity. Warm spicy shades of rusted red, soft orange and tan, are juxtaposed with strong, confident apple green and French blue. The sweet pastel lilac and creamy neutral base tone, help marry these opposing brights in a sophisticated yet playful manner.

Building an Inclusive Society

Children become the architects and engineers of their own future in this solution-focused story. Championing inclusivity, this new generation of innovators come together to build a better, more inclusive world. The home becomes a hybrid world of analogue design and materials with subtle digital enhancements for blended learning.

Interactive furniture that is graphic, modular and buildable is designed to be adapted and played with. Bright and bold primary shapes make up removable fabric patches, allowing children the autonomy to create, deconstruct and rebuild their own surroundings. Rudimentary construction materials like corrugated steel and perforated metal inspire new colourful interpretations for stationery, paper and on-the-go fabrics.

In toys and games, large punched-out holes in both hard and soft surfaces allow for easy threading and weaving of contrasting straps and fastenings, improving children’s cognitive and fine motor skills.

This Trend Digest provides a succinct summary of our Baby & Kids Autumn Winter 2023/24 seasonal forecast which was published 2 years ahead of this season in 2021. In the coming months, our Trend Editors will be identifying how these trends are adopted across all market levels, from early adopters through to mass market application. Working further ahead? Visit the Trend Store to browse our full range of home and interior seasonal forecasts.