2018 Style Guide: Next Level Apparel's Mark Seymour on Promotional Apparel Trends

Now more than ever, promotional apparel trends are drawing inspiration from street style and runway looks. But, promotional apparel suppliers and distributors need to be able to repurpose these trending looks into promotional styles that still showcase the client's branding. To help you find this balance, Mark Seymour, chief sales officer for Next Level Apparel, Gardena, Calif., provided some awesome insights.

Promotional Apparel Inspiration

To conquer your next promotional apparel line, you need to know where to look for inspiration.

"Retail always has an influence on promotional apparel, even though the two are not equal," said Seymour. "Retail continues to influence promotional apparel choices in pushing towards higher quality, better fabric and cuts, and color choices."

Promotional Apparel Trends

For 2018 and beyond, Seymour pointed to a few trends making waves in the promotional apparel world.

"For women, we see a strong [demand for] sun-washed colors and loose, flowy comfortable fits," he said. "We added four new silhouettes in our festival collection, highly influenced by retail that are showing huge demand."

The Festival Collection by Next Level Apparel

For colors, Seymour had some suggestions as well.

"We launched a new color, antique gold, that is really strong," he said. "We are also seeing a retro trend in ringers and color-block raglans. Natural and cream are also trending. Ultimately, color is always about freedom to choose, so we believe in lots of color choices and inventory to back it up."

Women's Ringer Tee by Next Level Apparel

Athletic Promotional Apparel

While Seymour felt that the term "athleisure" has been overused, he did say athletic apparel is still in great demand. Additionally, he revealed what end-users are looking for in their activewear.

Men’s Mock Twist Raglan Crew by Next Level Apparel

"For promotional apparel, the key elements are some aspect of performance combined with comfort and style," he said. "Buyers want garments that multitask and ultimately fit a need for active lifestyles, comfort and fashion. This is leading the way for cotton/poly blends."

To check out what's trending in promotional uniforms, check out this interview with Executive Apparel. And to see what millennials are looking for in their promotional apparel, check out this interview with SanMar.