Candy Craze: Lidewij Edelkoort predicts sweet SS25

Valentine’s Day may have passed already, but Lidewij Edelkoort is still in the mood for love.

While the days following Saint Valentine’s are often marked by discounted candy and wilting rose petals, Edelkoorts latest forecast ‘Candy Culture’ brings sugary treats and their varying shades to the forefront of fashion. Fulfilling the cravings of one’s inner child, sweet Spring and sweet Summer 2025, as the trend forecaster calls the season, makes a case for the naïve quest for the colourful.

Fashion has undoubtedly always been fascinated with youth, but lately the industry seems to be ageing backwards more than ever. Childlike wonder has already started to infiltrate fashion with the ‘coquette’-trend taking social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram by storm and the British culture and fashion magazine Dazed coining 2023 “the year of the girl”.

It is a phenomenon that hasn’t gone unnoticed by Edelkoort who noted that while observing current fashion and clothing trends, one can easily notice a proliferation of childrenswear infiltrating the world of grown-ups. Whether ballerinas, puffed sleeves or school uniforms, "there are already a considerable number of elements that point to a trend of celebrating childhood," says Edelkoort.

Born from the belief that society needs healing in a time filled with trouble and uncertainty, Edelkoort started working on the seasons forecast with the idea of childhood and allowed herself “to be a child and grasp for candy” while creating colour cards for SS25 and beyond. FashionUnited attended the online seminar organised by Edelkoorts Paris-based trend forecasting agency Trend Union and has selected some candy crazed colour highlights for a sugary season ahead.

Childlike wonder, whimsy and confectioners delights

Going a step further than ballerinas and bows, Edelkoort linked childhood to sugar cravings, which she in turn transformed into candy-hued colour cards for Spring/Summer 2025. The colours, aptly derived from different sugary treats, vary from powdery neutrals reminiscent of marshmallows to bright, vivid colours akin to heart shaped Valentine’s Day candy.

While dark colours may not be an immediate association with candy, childhood or Spring/Summer for that matter, liquorice shades ranging from black to woody browns commenced the trend report by Edelkoort. Paired with lighter tones such as white and off-white the darker colour creates both contrast and harmony that, especially when used with shiny materials, lends itself to accessories, ribbon-detailing and even avant-garde menswear according to the forecaster.

Black Candy was followed by neutral tones akin to Nougat before things took a more colourful turn and Edelkoort started to embrace more vibrant candy colours. Gummy bears, for example, were highlighted as an emblem of Pop Art with their bright colours and whimsical shapes.

Sitting pretty, romanticism and the continuous dominance of the girl

While a large focus during Edelkoorts forecast for Spring/Summer 2025 was on colours, the candy craze was also translated into shapes and design elements. Most notably perhaps was what she called “Marshmallow Mood”, romantic pretty clothes with exaggerated shapes, including this sort of hip enlargement in very soft colours, at times with plenty of ruffles and ribbons.

„We are going to have a period with a lot of Panniers, historical skirts with an inbuilt system to create bigger hips”, the Dutch trend forecaster explained a trend that has already been noticeable during Simona Rocha’s couture collection for Jean Paul Gaultier where the designer experimented with the silhouette.

Larger, wider hips have traditionally always been connected to the idea of womanhood, while another prevailing trend for the Spring/Summer 2025 Season takes a look back at childhood. Smock, an embroidery technique used to gather fabric so that it can stretch, has made its way from girlhood back to womenswear in the form of layered feminine dresses as well as different accessories.