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Photos: The 2010 fashion forecast

By Booth Moore, Adam Tschorn and Melissa Magsaysay In the world of fashion and style, the calendar flip to a new year is something akin to getting the key to a brand-new, bare-to-the-walls walk-in closet right next to the one we just finished filling up. What goes into the new space depends a lot (but not entirely) on what came before. In 2010, that means more traction for the familiar -- Forever 21, home shopping networks, Americana -- while adding some foreign influences (the ascent of Brazil) into the trend mix as well. But the biggest shift in the fashion and style realm might very well be in process rather than product; now that we can have anything we want when we want it, perhaps we'll give more thought to how it gets from point A to point B. What follows is a little crystal-ball gazing from the Image staff.


By Booth Moore, Adam Tschorn and Melissa Magsaysay

In the world of fashion and style, the calendar flip to a new year is something akin to getting the key to a brand-new, bare-to-the-walls walk-in closet right next to the one we just finished filling up. What goes into the new space depends a lot (but not entirely) on what came before.

In 2010, that means more traction for the familiar -- Forever 21, home shopping networks, Americana -- while adding some foreign influences (the ascent of Brazil) into the trend mix as well. But the biggest shift in the fashion and style realm might very well be in process rather than product; now that we can have anything we want when we want it, perhaps we’ll give more thought to how it gets from point A to point B. What follows is a little crystal-ball gazing from the Image staff.  (Disney Enterprises, Inc.; Mauricio Lima / AFP / Getty Images; Stefano Paltera / For The Times; Pierre Verdy / AFP / Getty Images)

Forever 21

Thakoon for Target, Jimmy Choo for H&M, Christopher Kane for Topshop -- in 2009, you couldn’t swing a shopping bag without hitting a new cheap-chic designer collection.

While those fast-fashion chains grabbed headlines, opened pop-up shops and hosted celebrity events, Forever 21 was the quiet giant, growing sales from $1.7 billion to more than $2 billion and launching its own magazine, cosmetics collection and a plus-size line called Faith 21.   (Stefano Paltera / For The Times)

Forever 21

Founded in 1984 by Korean immigrants, Forever 21 has 460 stores worldwide. In 2010, it will launch a new kids concept, for ages 7 to 14, and open more than 80 new locations, including megastores in Japan, Europe and New York‘s Times Square.

Jane Buckingham, founder of the L.A.-based marketing and consulting firm Trendera, said, “Forever 21 gets the trends right. You look like you’re fashionable but don’t feel like you’ve spent a fortune if it falls apart.”

The chain has taken advantage of the recession’s glut of vacant retail real estate to expand from mall-based stores into big-box locations. The prototype for the new stores is based on the 86,000-square-foot Forever 21 outpost opening in Cerritos this month.

“Going into a Forever 21 store is an experience,” Sozzi said. “You want to stay awhile.”   (Stefano Paltera / For The Times)

Brazil

Brazil seems to be having a moment -- or perhaps it’s a series of moments that may add up to a permanent place at or near the top of the heap.

Some of the most famous faces in the global fashion industry have come from Brazil, beginning with the leader of the modeling pack, no-last-name-necessary Gisele. Isabeli Fontana, Raquel Zimmermann, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio and Madonna’s current boy toy, Jesus Luz, also continue to hold supermodel status, bringing media and designer attention to their home country.   (Mauricio Lima / AFP / Getty Images)

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Brazil

Isabeli Fontana, Raquel Zimmermann, Adriana Lima, Alessandra Ambrosio and Madonna’s current boy toy, Jesus Luz, also continue to hold supermodel status, bringing media and designer attention to their home country.

Though they may walk the runways of Milan and Paris, many of these stars return to Brazil to strut the catwalk at Sao Paulo Fashion Week, a biannual event started in 1996, which attracts media and designers such as Alexandre Herchcovitch, Tufi Duek and the king of the Brazilian bikini, Amir Slama.   (Mauricio Lima / AFP / Getty Images)

Brazil

The country’s booming fashion scene has also fueled the luxury retail market, attracting brands and boutiques that are on par with Paris and New York. Christian Louboutin, Armani, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Oscar de la Renta and, just last month, Missoni, have opened stores in São Paulo, with several also retaining outposts in Rio de Janeiro.

(All this is happening despite huge pockets of poverty and crime in cities such as Rio, a phenomenon that gives some tourists pause.)   (Nelson Almeida / AFP / Getty Images)

Brand America

In addition to more advertisements that emphasize the hardworking, can-do spirit, industrial fortitude, and pick-ourselves-up-by-our-own-bootstraps message (see Levi’s “Go Forth” campaign), look for European designers to partner with some of the most revered of American brands.

At the Paris spring/summer 2010 men’s runway shows, the trademark Red Tab of Levi Strauss & Co. could be spotted in the collections of Rick Owens, Junya Watanabe Man and Jean Paul Gaultier, who added his signature maritime stripes and bondage straps motifs to the traditional 501 silhouette, as well as a classic-looking trucker’s jacket with the front panels cut out so that it resembled a bondage harness.   (Pierre Verdy / AFP / Getty Images)

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