Retro Fashion: Keep The Past Alive In Style

Whether it’s 80s fashion trends found in your favorite movies or sporting flared jeans on your commute to work, retro fashion has a massive impact.

Along with evoking good feelings and turning heads, old is new with retro-style fashion collections.

But first, what is ‘retro’?

What Is Retro Fashion?

Retro fashion is the encapsulation of times gone by. While the 80s and 90s fashion trends are the mode du jour, retro embodies brands, looks, feelings, and outfits inspired by past decades.

And good retro fashion makes the ‘old’ look effortlessly ‘new.’ Are you attempting to design a dress that feels at home in the 1970s?

Or are you thrilled about the more recent Y2K fashion craze? Regardless of your taste in clothes, it’s time to start using the past as a valuable reference point for the future.

You may hear ‘vintage’ and ‘retro’ thrown around a lot, too. And while they’re similar in nature, some differences set them apart.

And with garment manufacturing, these fundamental differences can influence how production unfolds.

What’s The Difference Between Retro and Vintage Fashion?

While these two terms are similar, retro refers to the overall aesthetic of the clothing line. Vintage clothes, however, are essentially replicas of clothing of a specific time period.

Instead of pants inspired by 80s fashion trends, vintage fashion is literal pants you’d purchase forty years ago. So when clothing manufacturers take on retro vs. vintage clothing orders, the distinction matters.

It’s the difference in creating carbon copies of older clothing and clothing that merely has a similar look and feel.

New Retro Fashion Collections

Naturally, the fashion industry is home to multiple designers with a flair for yesteryear. Let’s see some classic examples of famous fashion designers with the past on their minds lately.

And maybe you can take some inspiration from these looks.

Supreme and Burberry

Did you ever think a brand like Supreme and Burberry would team up for a fashion line with retro vibes?

Dubbed the ‘Supreme x Burberry 2022 spring collection,’ the fashion collection consists of 1980s-inspired leather track jackets, denim straight from the 1990s, and plaid designs that are right at home at a house party in the 1970s.

This unique line from Supreme and Burberry is an excellent bridge from modern fashion to retro sensibilities.

Levi’s ‘Project Survival’

Levi’s is drawing from way back in the 1960s for its eco-friendly clothing line, ‘Project Survival.’

Inspired explicitly by environmental activists at Northwestern University way back, the clothing line combines earth tones, retro denim, and twill.

And, of course, the 1966 501 jeans are the standout retro piece of the collection.

ELR’s FW22

ELR, launched by designer Eli Russell Linnetz, is an ambitious, artistic brand that’s right at home on the streets of SoHo and L.A.

ELR’s particular collection, FW22, blends classic Americana with a quirky look straight from the late 1970s. Linnetz takes these fashion staples and makes them truly unique with his consistent flair for retro mixed with thrift store fare.

ELR made waves with Kid Cudi wearing a wedding dress at the 2021 CFDA Awards.

Design Retro Fashion With The Evans Group

At The Evans Group (TEG), independent designers have an ally in fashion design. Whether you’re a designer looking to design something a little unconventional, or you’re starting your first clothing line, TEG has you covered.

With no minimums required, you can essentially get a feel for how clothing manufacturing, and by extension, the fashion industry works. A low minimum order quantity ensures that designers can save on expensive clothing line costs and finally craft some memorable fashion.

Not only that, but TEG follows the latest sustainable fashion trends to ensure that your clothing line isn’t contributing to harmful pollution.

First, designers meet with the creative team to brainstorm and develop a creative fashion mood board to hone ideas. Keep this fashion mood board handy, as you’ll likely use it throughout production to revise, edit, and improve upon old ideas.

Designers will then partake in domestic clothing production in Los Angeles, replete with clothing-making professionals.

The Evans Group boasts some of fashion’s premier matter makers and seamstresses to help make your designs spring to life from the past.

What results after production (complete with multiple quality checks and expert guidance) is a clothing line from a bygone era that will impress.

And when starting your own clothing line, appealing to your target audience’s sensibilities, wants, and needs are crucial for success.

Retro Fashion: A Return To Tradition (With Style)

Nostalgic for days gone by? Are you noticing some significant fashion trends? Whatever your reason, creating a comprehensive retro fashion line is a great way to launch a fashion design career.

Take those clothing design sketches and make them a tangible, creative reality!

With Jennifer Evans and TEG, you’ll have ample opportunity to present, grow, and execute creative ideas that’ll attract customers. And who knows, maybe your new take on old styles will turn some heads? It’s well worth a shot.

Want to see what seed of an idea can grow into? Curious about the clothing manufacturing process? Drop us a line and tell us what you’re looking to create today.