2021 will be the year of the essentials Simple clothes for complicated times

2020 is the year that streetwear has had to take a step back. After an era of maximalism and boisterous graphics, the essentials are making their great comeback. Driven by the Uniqlo phenomenon, which has set a new standard for quality essentials and at democratic prices, numerous brands, both luxury and high street, have started to produce their own essential garments. First of all is surely the upcoming Yeezy x Gap collaboration, which will probably be a springboard for a different conception of the basic leader, thanks to the appeal of a prominent name for a line of democratic essentials. But Highsnobiety has also recently unveiled its Staples Collection, which almost shares its name with H&M's Blank Staples collection. adidas Originals has just unveiled its Premium Essentials collection, while already some years ago designer like Jerry Lorenzo introduced an ESSENTIALS line in Fear of God's proposal, which, with the release of the Seventh Collection, has also begun to explore a concept of relaxed and minimal tailoring that, from the essentials' aesthetic, recovers the simplicity of colors and design but maintaining the quality of the luxury product.

If 2021 is the year of essentials, the new trend will be, for better or worse, one of the main reflections that a historical event such as the Covid-19 pandemic will have had on the fashion market – a market that has proved increasingly volatile, based on a target of consumers far more mercurial and disloyal than in the past and ready to alter, often in a rapid and radical way, in response to the main phenomena that affect customs and society.