IN BETWEEN

CURATORIAL INTELLIGENCE | SPRING / SUMMER 2028

Human + artificial. Inherited + generated. Physical + digital.

Spring / Summer 2028 emerges in the space between seemingly opposing forces. Technology becomes increasingly embedded in everyday life while interest in craft, provenance and physical experience grows alongside it. Familiar references are not simply revived—they are altered, combined and placed into new contexts.

Across culture, design, color and pattern, the season reflects a world becoming more technologically mediated while simultaneously searching for what feels personal, tangible and distinctly human.

Because the strongest recurring finding across the independent research is that SS28 isn't resolving toward one side. It's happening between opposing forces:

Human ↔ Artificial
Inherited ↔ Generated
Local ↔ Global
Physical ↔ Digital
Natural ↔ Synthetic
Practical ↔ Decorative
Familiar ↔ Recombined
Individual ↔ Algorithmic

CULTURE — AI Everywhere sits against Human Proof. Fragmented Culture sits against mass culture.

TREND — Mixed Hand literally combines human and machine. Remix combines references. Pattern in Relief moves between image and object.

CONCEPT — Heirloom and Folklore look backward while Digital Decadence points toward technological mediation. Local Summer brings aspiration closer to home.

COLOR — Ground + Glitch is almost a literal expression of In Between: earth against synthetic interruption.

PRINT + PATTERN — digital + hand, flat + dimensional, archive + contemporary, repeat + placement.

The interesting thing is that “in between” isn't compromise. The evidence is showing combinations that would previously have been treated as contradictions.

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01 CULTURE | 02 TRENDS | 03 CONCEPTS | 04 COLOR | O5 PRINT + PATTERN

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01

CULTURE

What's shaping the season

SS28 is developing against a backdrop of economic selectivity, rapidly normalized AI, climate adaptation and increasingly fragmented culture. At the same time, consumers continue to protect meaningful experiences and show renewed interest in physical making, local character, cultural memory and human authorship.

Rather than moving entirely toward either technological progress or nostalgia, these behaviors increasingly exist together.

SELECTIVE SPENDING

Economic pressure continues to shape consumer behavior, but the research points to greater selectivity rather than universal restraint. Consumers are cutting back or trading down in some areas while continuing to spend on products and experiences they consider worth the investment. Quality, longevity, versatility and distinctive design are becoming stronger measures of value alongside price.

The result is less about spending less across the board and more about deciding what deserves the investment.

Culture Watch: quality · longevity · distinctive detail · craftsmanship· versatility · meaningful purchases

EXPERIENCE PROTECTED

Even as consumers become more selective with discretionary spending, experiences continue to hold protected value. Current consumer research shows people economizing in some areas while continuing to prioritize travel, live events, wellness and other experiences they consider worth the expense. The emphasis is shifting toward experiences that offer something lasting in return—connection, restoration, discovery or a meaningful memory.

The result is not unrestricted spending, but a greater willingness to protect the experiences that feel genuinely worthwhile.

Culture Watch: short-haul travel · events · wellness · hobbies · regional destinations · experiential retail

AI EVERYWHERE

AI is becoming less of a separate destination and more of an invisible layer within everyday life. It is moving into search, shopping, planning, creative tools and the platforms people already use, quietly influencing how information is found, choices are made and ideas take shape. As the technology becomes more familiar, the shift is increasingly about integration rather than novelty.

The result is a world where AI becomes less noticeable as a technology while becoming more present in everyday behavior.

Culture Watch: AI-assisted discovery · personalization · generative creation · recommendation · automated decision-making

HUMAN PROOF

As AI-generated imagery and content become increasingly difficult to distinguish from human-made work, evidence of the hand is gaining new relevance. Imperfection, process, provenance and visible craftsmanship offer something technology cannot easily replicate: a clear sense of who made something, how it was made and why it matters. Rather than rejecting AI, the shift suggests a growing desire to retain signs of human intention within an increasingly synthetic world.

The result is a renewed appreciation for things that feel authored, individual and unmistakably made by someone.

Culture watch: handwork · imperfection · maker identity · physical media · traditional technique · visible process

CLIMATE ADAPTATION

Climate volatility is increasingly influencing how people live, travel, dress and use their surroundings. Rising temperatures and more frequent extreme weather are shifting seasonal routines, while consumers and cities adapt through cooling, shade, water access, flexible schedules and products designed for changing conditions. Climate is becoming less of a distant concern and more of a practical consideration shaping everyday choices.

The result is a growing focus on design that responds to the environment—balancing protection, comfort and adaptability with the desire to continue living well.

Culture Watch: lightweight construction · shade · breathability · technical materials · altered travel patterns · indoor/outdoor living

PLURAL CULTURE

Culture is becoming less centralized and more plural, shaped by smaller communities, platforms and increasingly specific points of view. Shared mass moments still exist, but alongside them are niche aesthetics and cultural references shaped by algorithmic feeds, subcultures and communities of interest. People can participate in multiple cultural worlds at once, allowing influence to move between generations, geographies and identities more freely.

The result is less reliance on a single dominant cultural narrative and more space for different references, aesthetics and perspectives to coexist.

Culture Watch: microcultures · fandom · personalization · aesthetic crossover · individual styling · niche communities

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02

TRENDS

What's changing in design

Across the research, design is becoming more tactile, layered and deliberately recombined. Familiar references remain important, but they are increasingly altered through dimensional surfaces, mixed processes, unexpected combinations and more intentional detail. At the same time, the growing presence of digital tools is making evidence of materiality and the human hand more visible and valuable.

The result is less about entirely new aesthetics and more about changing how familiar design languages are constructed, combined and experienced.

For SS28, four movements stand out.

PATTERN IN RELIEF

Pattern becomes physical.

Pattern increasingly moves beyond a flat printed surface. Motif, texture and construction begin to merge through embroidery, appliqué, jacquard, layering and dimensional textile techniques.

Motifs are no longer simply applied to the material. Increasingly, the material creates the image.

Print Watch: dimensional florals · raised repeats · embroidery · appliqué · jacquard imagery · layered transparency · textile collage · constructed pattern

Trajectory: Accelerating

MIXED HAND

Human + machine become visible together.

Digital tools are becoming part of the creative process, but the research shows them increasingly combined with rather than replacing the human hand. Across design, digitally generated imagery, AI, photography and precision processes are being altered through painting, embroidery, dyeing, cutting and other physical interventions. The contrast between technological precision and visible human touch creates surfaces that feel intentionally unresolved.

The result is a new hybrid language where digital and handmade processes become increasingly difficult—and less necessary—to separate.

Print Watch: digital + hand · generative motifs · irregular repeats · visible stitch · manipulated imagery · machine precision interrupted by craft

Trajectory: Accelerating

REMIX

Familiar aesthetics find unfamiliar company.

Historical periods, wardrobe categories and established aesthetics increasingly function as components rather than complete looks.

Heritage meets sport. Romance meets utility. Lingerie meets tailoring. Traditional pattern appears in synthetic color.

Instead of reproducing the past, SS28 increasingly takes it apart and rearranges it.

Print Watch: archive references · unexpected styling · mixed eras · traditional + technical · formal + casual · heritage motifs in contemporary contexts

Trajectory: Accelerating

THE EXTRA DETAIL

Decoration becomes deliberate.

As design becomes more considered, small decorative interventions are taking on greater importance. Brooches, charms, beads, rosettes, tassels, appliqués and unexpected embellishments are being used to interrupt familiar surfaces and give otherwise simple pieces a more individual character. Rather than decoration applied everywhere, the emphasis is on the deliberate detail—the element that makes something feel distinctive, personal and worth noticing.

The result is ornament becoming more intentional, with a single detail capable of changing the character of the whole.

Print Watch: rosettes · borders · medallions · charms · badges · decorative hardware · isolated florals · localized embellishment

Trajectory: Accelerating

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03

CONCEPTS

What it could look + feel like

Concept Intelligence identifies emerging visual worlds created by combinations of culture, lifestyle, objects, places, aesthetics and design.

For SS28, three worlds stand out.

The concepts emerge from several signals repeating across the research: growing AI mediation is increasing the value placed on authenticity and visible human involvement; heritage, provenance and craft are being revisited as sources of meaning; and cultural identity is becoming more rooted in locality, memory and lived experience. Current research around AI and cultural creation is already documenting this tension between technological possibility and authenticity, with locality, cultural judgment and human participation remaining important even as generative tools enter the process. Heirloom World responds through objects and materials that carry time, Local Summer through place, proximity and familiar experience, and Folklore through shared stories, symbols and traditions. Together, they aren't simply nostalgic—they show the past and the familiar being used as material for something contemporary.

HEIRLOOM WORLD

Things that carry time.

Objects with history become increasingly compelling in a culture of instant creation and endless newness. Inherited textiles, worn furniture, antique objects, needlework, books, old photographs and traditional craft create a world defined by provenance rather than perfection. This isn't nostalgia for a particular decade. It is an appreciation for things that visibly existed before us.

Look for: tapestry · needlework · quilting · antique botanicals · lace · dark wood · old glass · patina · ceramics · collected objects · faded textiles

Feeling: collected · intimate · aged · tactile · storied

LOCAL SUMMER

Escape gets closer to home.

The aspirational summer destination becomes smaller, more personal and more accessible. Old resorts, lake houses, coastal towns, tennis courts, roadside stops and regional traditions create a different kind of summer fantasy—one rooted in character rather than distance. The souvenir, local specialty and imperfect holiday photograph become part of the visual language.

Look for: lakes · old resorts · tennis · boats · boardwalks · picnic checks · striped umbrellas · motel signs · souvenirs · regional flora · roadside graphics

Feeling: easy · nostalgic · sun-faded · familiar · escapist

FOLKLORE

Old stories find new forms.

Regional traditions, mythology, folk art and vernacular craft provide an increasingly rich counterpoint to globally standardized visual culture. Symbols, animals, flowers, ritual objects and traditional techniques become source material for contemporary interpretation. Rather than treating folk culture as a generic aesthetic, the emphasis shifts toward story, place and specific cultural traditions.

Look for: folk florals · symbolic animals · embroidery · mythology · painted decoration · regional craft · ritual motifs · stars · suns · moons · ornamental geometry

Feeling: symbolic · storied · handmade · regional · expressive

On our radar

THE UNSTYLED LIFE

Anti-fashion continues evolving beyond its original internet and celebrity references. Oversized proportions, athletic product, practical dressing and unexpected combinations suggest an increasingly idiosyncratic approach to personal style.

Watching: sport + luxury · masculine + feminine · practical + decorative · expensive + ordinary

DIGITAL DECADENCE

Early signals suggest a darker evolution of digital nostalgia emerging through music, fashion and technology.

Y2K references become less glossy and more degraded, synthetic and overstimulated—mixing obsolete technology with contemporary digital anxiety.

Watching: flash photography · pixels · digital noise · chrome · translucent plastic · synthetic color · nightlife · lo-fi imagery

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04

COLOR CONCEPTS

What’s changing chromatically

SS28 color is less about the arrival of one defining shade and more about how colors are beginning to interact.

The strongest emerging behavior combines grounded, materially familiar colors with sharper synthetic interruptions.

GROUND + GLITCH

SS28 color finds its energy in the contrast between the grounded and the synthetic. Bark, tobacco, olive, clay, umber, sand, cream and charcoal provide a materially familiar foundation, disrupted by digitally charged Screen Blue, Digital Lilac, Acid Yellow-Green, Synthetic Yellow and Electric Orange.

Emerging Color

Movement is happening within familiar color families. Yellow pushes beyond butter and lemon toward sharper fluorescent expressions, while purple becomes cooler and more artificial and blue moves toward clearer, screen-like intensity. Mineral turquoise bridges the natural and synthetic, while tobacco and olive extend the continued importance of earth-derived color.

Color Connections

The shift becomes particularly visible through unexpected pairings. Bark meets Screen Blue, Olive is interrupted by Digital Lilac, and Tobacco is sharpened by Acid Yellow. Rust with Clear Blue, Earth Brown with Turquoise, and Burgundy with Blue-Green continue the interplay between grounded familiarity and synthetic intensity.

Continuing Color

Not every important color is new. Cobalt, chartreuse, butter yellow, burgundy, chocolate brown, bright red and royal purple remain relevant for SS28, evolving through new combinations and applications rather than disappearing.

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05

PRINT + PATTERN

What’s changing on the surface

For SS28, the evolution of print is as much about technique, scale and placement as motif. 

There are five leading the shift, together with the classics.

PHYSICAL PATTERN

Print gains dimension.

Embroidery, appliqué, jacquard, layering and constructed textiles increasingly blur the boundary between pattern and material.

Watch: raised motifs · dimensional florals · tactile repeats · textile collage · embroidery as graphic

• Women / 2026 runway — Huishan Zhang, Fall 2026 RTW: floral appliqué and dimensional embellishment are particularly relevant. Vogue Runway — Huishan Zhang Fall 2026‍ ‍

• Men / 2026 runway — Amiri, Spring 2026: decorative embroideries and bird-and-flower jacquards turn pattern into textile construction rather than surface print alone. Vogue Runway — Amiri Spring 2026 Menswear‍ ‍

• Culture — Homo Faber 2026, Venice: more than 700 handmade objects from 70 countries; a strong broader signal around contemporary craftsmanship and preservation of artisanal skill. Homo Faber 2026 research‍ ‍

• Travel — Guatemala textile travel: weaving, dyeing, artisan communities and textile workshops as cultural travel rather than passive sightseeing. Vogue — Guatemala Textile Travel Guide‍ ‍

• Streetwear — dimensional embroidery: flat, 3D puff and other embroidery techniques being applied directly to streetwear graphics. Streetwear Embroidery Techniques

TACTILE PHOTOGRAPHY

The image becomes material

Photography and image-based artwork move beyond conventional surface print, becoming embedded, layered and manipulated through textile and construction. Scenic imagery, photographic transfers and painterly compositions interact with texture, transparency, scale and placement, blurring the boundary between image and material.

Watch: photographic transfer · scenic imagery · textile manipulation · engineered composition · transparency · oversized imagery · image layering

• Women / 2026 runway — Ralph Lauren, Fall 2026 RTW: useful for the relationship between painterly imagery, textile surface and highly tactile custom materials. Vogue Runway — Ralph Lauren Fall 2026‍ ‍

• Men / 2026 runway — Undercover, Fall 2026: the clearest example I found. Jun Takahashi revisits the Cindy Sherman project, using photographic film stills on tailoring and allowing color from the image to inhabit the clothing. Vogue Runway — Undercover Fall 2026 Menswear‍ ‍

• Culture — tactile photography: Canon is translating photographs into raised, touchable surfaces up to 4mm high. It is an interesting crossover between image and physical surface beyond fashion. Canon Tactile Photography Exhibition‍ ‍

• Travel — art/design travel in 2026: museums, narrative art and destination-driven visual experiences reinforce the increasing overlap of image, place and experience. Art + Travel: Where to Go in 2026

• Streetwear — graphic placement/AOP: this is a more literal commercial/street expression of the same movement: placement graphics, all-over print and artwork operating at garment scale. Graphic Streetwear: Placement + AOP

ARCHIVE REMIX

Familiar pattern gets reconstructed.

Traditional motifs remain relevant, but their treatment changes.

Florals, paisleys, checks, stripes and ornamental references are rescaled, recolored, fragmented and placed into unexpected contexts.

Watch: archive motifs · unexpected palettes · mixed references · altered scale · historical + contemporary

• Women / 2026 runway — Coach, Fall 2026: one of the strongest examples: '70s sportswear, '90s skate culture, Hollywood glamour, upcycled denim, patchwork and workwear combined as a remix of American visual memory. Coach Fall 2026 research‍ ‍

• Men / 2026 runway — Ralph Lauren, Fall 2026: folk patterns, Fair Isle, hand-painted washed denim, leaf prints, vintage Polo Sport, Gothic lettering, Bengal stripes and paisley are deliberately recombined. Vogue Runway — Ralph Lauren Fall 2026 Menswear‍ ‍

• Culture — the luxury archive: current luxury strategy is actively returning to house archives and recognizable codes, with contemporary designers reinterpreting rather than abandoning them. Vogue Business — The Battle for the VIC‍ ‍

• Travel — textile destinations: Jaipur block print, Kyoto silk, Yogyakarta batik, Oaxaca weaving, Marrakech rugs and other textile traditions provide a useful visual source for the original languages now being remixed. Textile Destinations + Traditional Techniques‍ ‍

• Streetwear — Aries × M&S: this is almost a textbook Archive Remix example: Aries takes the historic St Michael identity, old motifs and familiar M&S codes and translates them into contemporary streetwear. Aries × M&S St Michael Archive Remix

HAND ALTERED

Precision gives way to intention

Deliberate iHand drawing, embroidery, patchwork, weathering and irregularity disrupt the perfection of digitally generated repeat.

The result celebrates evidence of process.

Watch: irregular line · visible stitch · distressed surface · hand painting · patchwork · imperfect repeat

• Women / 2026 runway — Parsons BFA, Fall 2026: probably the richest source for your board: hand-painted porcelain prints, petal embroidery, hand-painted sequins, hand sewing and patchwork combinations of crochet, lace and knit. Vogue Runway — Parsons BFA Fall 2026‍

• Men / 2026 runway — Ralph Lauren, Fall 2026: hand-painted washed denim sits alongside folk pattern and traditional knit structures—good evidence for the hand-altered idea entering menswear without becoming purely craft-market. Vogue Runway — Ralph Lauren Fall 2026 Menswear‍

• Culture — “perfectly imperfect”: Vogue's analysis of more than 500 Fall 2026 shows specifically identifies designers embracing imperfection to make fashion feel human-made and finding renewed value in the act of making. Vogue — Fall 2026 in Designers' Own Words‍ ‍

• Travel — Moroccan textile immersion: embroidery, rug knotting, eco-dyeing and direct contact with textile processes make this a useful visual/cultural travel extension of Hand Altered. Morocco 2026 Textile Tour

• Streetwear — one-of-one making: deconstruction, sewing and custom construction represent the streetwear version of visible intervention and individuality. Making One-of-One Streetwear From Scratch

PLACED ORNAMENT

Tradition takes a bohemian turn.

Decoration increasingly interacts with the object itself rather than simply covering its surface.

Borders, medallions, pockets, corners and isolated motifs give pattern a specific relationship to product construction.

Watch: border print · medallions · localized florals · engineered motifs · decorative corners · badges

• Women / 2026 runway — Chanel Resort 2027, shown in 2026: I'm including this because the collection was presented April 2026, despite its Resort 2027 season label. Seashell earrings, coral, starfish, sea-anemone braiding and an “aquarium” of embroidery make it particularly strong for localized ornament. Vogue Runway — Chanel Resort 2027‍ ‍

• Men / 2026 runway/context — FW26 brooch + tie-pin movement: Vogue identifies brooches and tie pins as a specific Fall/Winter 2026 menswear direction, with lapel placement becoming a vehicle for expression. Vogue — Fall/Winter 2026 Menswear Predictions‍ ‍

• Culture — “Pin-terior Design”: brooches have moved beyond clothing into mirrors, frames, lampshades and curtains. This is useful evidence that localized ornamentation itself is becoming a broader decorative behavior. Architectural Digest — Brooches as Decor in 2026‍ ‍

• Travel — Santa Fe Indian Market 2026: jewelry, beadwork, quillwork, handcrafted accessories and contemporary Indigenous fashion provide a strong cultural/travel connection to ornament as meaningful, localized making. Vogue — Santa Fe Indian Market 2026‍ ‍

• Streetwear/street style — waist charms: charms are migrating from bags to belt loops and waists, turning specific garment/body locations into decorative sites. Vogue — Belt + Waist Charms in Street Style

TECHNIQUE, SCALE + LAYOUT

Pattern shifts from surface decoration to active composition.

Print moves beyond the flat repeat as technique, scale and placement become increasingly expressive. Dimensional embroidery, appliqué, jacquard imagery, patchwork, painterly surfaces and digital-meets-hand processes add depth, while oversized motifs, placements, borders, collage and layering reshape how pattern occupies the product. The larger movement is from pattern filling the product to pattern interacting with the product.

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THE SS28 OVERVIEW

• Spring / Summer 2028 doesn't point toward a singular aesthetic.

• Instead, the research reveals a season defined by coexistence.

• Technology advances while craft strengthens.

• Global access expands while local identity gains value.

• Artificial color interrupts natural palettes.

• Historical references coexist with digital processes.

• Perfect imagery meets visible imperfection.

• The emerging opportunity is not choosing between these worlds.

• It is designing in between them.

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ABOUT CURATORIAL INTELLIGENCE/ DISCLAIMER

Curatorial Intelligence is Pattern Curator's AI-led research platform, identifying emerging cultural, design, color and print + pattern signals through independent research and cross-analysis.

Each seasonal edition examines five distinct lenses—Cultural Behaviors, Trends, Concepts, Color and Print + Pattern—before analyzing where the findings converge.

The research is intentionally separated from Pattern Curator's human-curated seasonal direction, creating an independent view of what may be emerging next.

Please refer to this report as an educational and editorial report on what’s happening currently to inform future development. All information is AI-assisted. All information is for reference only. We do not guarantee any results from our reports.