The Top Three Trends We Spotted at Fashion’s Coolest Trade Show

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Tradeshow is a stale word: it conjures images of comfort sneakers, lanyards, and promotional pens. The Capsule show is not these things. It's an exciting collection of young designers and independent labels, attended by buyers from the coolest stores making key selections to guide their shops's next season direction (and the wristband to get in is a coral seed bead bracelet; no laminated name tags here).

We were honored when the show asked Racked to join its August event in Las Vegas this week, inviting us to curate our Capsule Selects — the most eye-catching pieces to tell the story of three exciting trends emerging for spring 2016.

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We assembled three vignettes in display cases at the front of the show to spark attendees's imaginations before traversing the booths of designers like Samantha Pleet, Objects Without Meaning, and Joyrich. With brands representing everything from denim and swimwear to jewelry and perfume, there was a ton to choose from, but three standout trends emerged. The first is a color story, inspired by the '70s and earthy Southwest hues; the second an ode to denim's future; and the third, a scribbly print trend of hand-done illustrations. Check out our favorite finds below.

Sunbaked

Callahan knit top, Shades of Grey blouse, Studebaker Metals necklace and cuff, Vivian Chan suede top, Triumph & Disaster soap, Curator shorts, Blank shoes, Cuchè bikini, Yoke perfume oil, Komono watch, Just Female belt bag

Warm, earthy colors like terra cotta, coral, and oatmeal were the standout color story. The palette is a welcome carryover from the '70s trend that's been pressing forward for a few seasons, full of shades that flatter all skin tones. Pieces with rich texture really showed off the colors, seen in Vivian Chan's soft suede crop top (top right) and Just Female's sturdy suede belt bag (center).

New Blues

LBT-LBT dress (folded), Komono sunglasses and watch, Blank shoes, Vivian Chan crop tank, Objects Without Meaning patchwork jeans, Timo Weiland dress, Just Female distressed jeans

Denim has been especially front-and-center for the last year or so, appearing as overalls, outerwear, and flares. Designers showed plenty of fresh ideas for the fabric at Capsule. In its truest form, the blue jean, looser fits were enhanced with thoughtful destroy work and updated patchwork techniques (Objects Without Meaning did an especially cool version of this, washing jeans with patches on and then removing them, for the visual effect of patched denim but without the actual layers). Denim popped up on other silhouettes, too, like this Timo Weiland dress (center), with frayed edges at the waist and neck, and on a pair of Blank platform sandals. Pieces that weren't technically made of denim also referenced the material. Deep indigo appeared on LBT-LBT's short-sleeve dress (top left) and Vivian Chan's pretty crop top (top right), which had a unique feathered effect that showgoers kept stopping to pet.

Doodles

Nell and Mary backpack, Krewe du Optic sunglasses, Haculla bucket hat, Komono watch, Norden soap, Lazy Oaf shirtdress, Native Youth shorts, F-Troupe clogs

Playful, hand-drawn doodles were the best print trend at the show, a continuation of the artful scribbles shown for resort. The prints — which ranged from goofy cartoons to loose geometrics — really pop when done in black and white, and appeared on everything from a hand soap label to a pair of F-Troupe clogs.