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Hello.
This is mammy from the ApparelX Trend Blog editorial team.
In this blog, I would like to explain the trend colors and materials for spring/summer 2026, which is just around the corner.
Looking ahead to the 2026 spring/summer season, trends in the apparel industry are expected to increasingly center on “lightness,” “coolness,” and “transparency.”
We have summarized the color trends and noteworthy materials for the spring/summer season from ApparelX’s unique perspective.
The palette that symbolizes 2026SS is pale tones that combine softness and a refreshing feel.
Soft pink is a versatile color that gives a gentle, elegant impression while also working well as an accent color.
By pairing it with light materials such as chiffon and organza, it creates a breezy spring/summer mood in both color and texture.
Citrus yellow is a fresh, positive color.
Incorporating it into styling adds seasonal energy and brightness.
Ice blue is also drawing attention as a color that visually evokes coolness.
When combined with sheer or transparent materials, it creates an even cooler and cleaner impression.
On the other hand, vivid colors with a strong presence are also key colors for this spring/summer.
Deep blue gives an intelligent, sophisticated impression and enhances design appeal even in simple silhouettes.
It is well suited to urban, modern styles.
Flame red is a key color that is almost symbolic of the energy of summer, like the sun itself.
By pairing it with natural materials such as linen, it is possible to create an expression that feels relaxed as well as strong.
Brown tones, which have continued from 2025AW, remain in focus for 2026SS as well.
Mocha brown is a shade with depth that still feels soft.
When paired with lightweight textiles such as sheer materials, it can be updated for spring/summer.
Sand beige is a color that blends well with skin and gives a natural, elegant impression.
It is easy to incorporate into a wide range of items and pairs well with other colors.
A dry texture that evokes paper or sand is becoming an important element of 2026SS.
Materials with a rippled appearance, such as yoryu (wrinkle crepe), voile, and chiffon, are characterized by their ability to create a cool impression both visually and to the touch.
Beautiful luster and color that stand out to the eye, with an elegant silhouette.
A cool touch and supple hand feel that comes through in your hand. It is characterized by a refreshing, comfortable wearing experience.
This material is made from delicate 160/1 fine-count ramie that has been softly kneaded to give it texture.
It has an elegant finish that combines ramie’s characteristic crispness and luster.
After twisting 100% linen yarn tightly and making it into fabric, the fabric is dried in a relaxed state, causing it to shrink and create a distinctive wrinkled texture.
This richly textured material feels less clingy against the skin because of its wrinkled shape, making it ideal for refreshing items.
Structural textiles that suggest breathability, such as leno weave, are also attracting attention.
The uneven texture of seersucker-like materials helps them feel less clingy against the skin, combining comfort and design appeal for midsummer items.
This 100% cotton lawn textile has a natural feel and softness thanks to special dyeing in a dedicated dye kettle.
Because it is lawn, it has just the right amount of sheerness, making it recommended for summer shirts and similar items.
Natural stretch + wrinkle finish + fluorine-free water repellency This stretchable mini-seersucker textile is characterized by its natural wrinkled look, natural stretch, and the way its uneven surface keeps it from sticking to the skin.
In addition to quick-drying performance, it uses an environmentally friendly fluorine-free water-repellent agent.
It is a leno weave textile with a coarse weave and excellent breathability.
This is also recommended for spring/summer jackets with a sheer look, which is one of the recent trends.
The light, airy feel, as if catching the wind, is easy to incorporate into layered styles and light outerwear, making for a wide range of applications.
This nylon-blend organza is characterized by a natural wrinkled surface and a soft, supple texture.
The wrinkles within the sheerness create just the right amount of relaxed character, making it recommended for light spring/summer jackets and other outerwear.
A beautiful, glass-like organza made with round-section yarn that transmits light very well.
When pleats are added, the beauty of the shadows stands out even more, making it recommended for pleated long skirts and similar items.
An organza characterized by the natural cool feel of cotton. The resin finish gives it a moderate crispness and dry touch.
This thin, elegant sheer material can be used for both casual and polished looks.
Over the past year or so, ultra-thin to lightweight denim materials have appeared, overturning the notion that denim is hot to wear.
New lightweight denim textiles that can be worn comfortably even in summer are starting to spread.
Denim that makes use of sheer effects and faded effects is a noteworthy material this summer, refreshing the conventional image of denim.
This is a material said to be difficult to produce domestically at this level of lightness. Three color variations were achieved through dyeing concentration control.
Because the color is not faded out by washing from rigid denim, quality remains stable.
This is a 5-ounce-class selvedge chambray.
It is thin and soft, with options ranging from deep colors to light blue, making it recommended for shirts, pants, and more.
This thin denim has just the right amount of sheerness. It keeps the denim look while offering a light, refreshing wearing experience.
With a natural faded effect that develops as the color washes out with each wash, and “fading” where rubbed areas turn whitish, you can enjoy a unique “aging” effect over time.
In addition to basic performance such as breathability, sweat absorption, and quick-drying, added functions like cool-touch, UV cut, and antibacterial/deodorizing properties are becoming essential in Japan as it faces intense heat.
Functional materials that combine heat protection and comfort are indispensable choices for spring/summer products.
This textile combines cool-touch functionality and over 80% UV blocking, while also featuring a seersucker-like look created by salt-shrink processing.
Its smooth nylon feel is a key characteristic.
The biggest point is its water absorption and diffusion performance, like water dropped onto desert sand, and the resulting quick-drying property.
The weft thread is blended with elastic polyester thread, giving it a moderate crispness and elasticity as well.
The wrinkle texture created by special processing and the dry touch give it a comfortable feel against the skin, and with its moisture absorption and quick-drying functionality, it is a material we hope will be transformed into a variety of items for surviving the hot summer.
This is a comfortable material that feels cool and refreshing the moment the yarn touches your skin, thanks to ceramic particles.
In addition to cool-touch performance, it also offers excellent stretch, wrinkle resistance, and washability.
It is also mesh, so even when hanging as a finished product it gives a visually cool impression.
Materials using washi yarn are also drawing attention as spring/summer materials.
They are characterized by excellent breathability, moisture absorption, and quick-drying performance, allowing a dry, comfortable feel to be maintained for long periods.
Fabric made with Japanese washi is also an effective approach for differentiation.
It is a material recommended globally, not only in Japan, for expressing a distinctly Japanese feel.
This bare jersey made with washi is light in itself, making it recommended for spring/summer cut-and-sewn items and similar uses.
The colors are also named after traditional Japanese colors, creating a warm and soft lineup that feels spring-like.
This is a lightweight textile made with washi that offers excellent moisture absorption and quick-drying performance, along with crispness and a dry hand feel.
By applying a special wash finish, it has been made even softer and more natural.
By blending Japanese-made washi yarn “BiwA” with the finest Belgian linen, we were able to further enhance the dry texture and cool feeling of both materials.
By applying Pratt Air-In processing, we finished it into a textile with softness and volume.
What did you think?
For spring/summer 2026, with “lightness,” “coolness,” and “functionality” as the core themes, it is a season in which a wide range of expressions are possible in both color and materials.
Rather than simply adopting trends as they are,
it is important to add your brand’s own interpretation through material selection and specification design.
We hope this introduction to trend colors and materials will be of some help when creating your products.
This time we focused on textiles, but ApparelX carries all the materials needed for garment production, so please be sure to check them out.
