Vintage

Sónar festival, 2006

WGSN first attended the Sónar music festival in Barcelona in 1999 and has been a fan of the event ever since. Attracting a mix of music and fashion types alike, today the festival is still as directional as ever. We love the effortless style of this girl, whose 60s styling was an especially strong look in 2006, but the look is still timeless with her swing-skirted vintage dress and long hair.

Stockholm, Sweden, 2006

Stockholm continues to be an inspiring street style destination and a source of trends that filter into the rest of Europe and beyond. We love the individuality and classic 80s "Brat Pack" styling of this guy, complete with wide lapels, biker jacket and Wayfarers.

Reading Festival, UK, 2003

Festival fashion in the UK is always an eclectic affair and we love the high/low glamour of this 80s cocktail dress worn with trainers. First highlighted as a key item in 2003, we spotted the look at the Reading Festival. We love the red-and-black styling of this couple who epitomise all that's great about the UK indie rock aesthetic.

Vintage

Vintage washes have grown to become a huge business focus for laundries. However, in its infancy, vintage washes at laundries meant that to have whiskering on your jeans cost twice as much as the traditional sandblasting and required a huge investment from laundries in terms of machinery. This "science" of new washes and new machinery just keeps on growing. Aged looks continue to be an integral part of every denim range now, often featuring more than one wash.

Customisation

Customisation was the practical girl's answer to the vintage revival - combining thrift store looks with a pre-loved sensibility, reworking 1970s craft and embellishment references for an urban, mainstream marketplace. This classic "converted" jean-skirt has been reworked in both fashion and basic denim lines for the past decade and shows no sign of diminishing.

Premium vintage

Menswear archive clothing.

Why: Rising in status from undesirable hand-me-down to valuable commodity, vintage clothing has become a commercial concept. As a highly valued inspiration for many menswear collections, vintage provides functional authenticess style of this girl, whose 60s styling was an especially strong look in 2006, but the look is still timeless with her swing-skirted vintage dress and long hair.

Crombie coats and tartans

The British youth culture archive

Why: Sparked by photographic exhibitions, feature films and documentaries, designers and consumers alike keep returning to the succession of British youth movements between the late 50s and early 80s. The music, rebellious attitude, visual impact and authentic style icons refuse to lose inspirational appeal.

Vintage kidswear

Celebrities and style-savvy parents have long seen the advantage of buying vintage for themselves, and are now starting to buy it for their offspring. The upcycling of worn-out adult clothing into kidswear is also a significant trend.

50s influence

Pinpointed as the most influential era on swim and beachwear design in the last decade, the 1950s have offered a rich source of shape, styling and printed concepts seen filtering into many collections.

Vintage inspiration

What: Taking inspiration and designs from past eras.

Why: The designs of the past have always held a fascination for designers wanting original and individual inspiration, especially when mixed with new silhouettes and updated for a directional look.

The wedge platform

What: The "wedge" was first developed by Italian designer Salvatore Ferragamo in the 30s.

Why: The resurgence of vintage styling has seen a return to stable heights and blocky silhouettes, resulting in one of the most iconic and talked-about styles of the decade.

Heritage trainers

What: Trainer brands raiding their archives reinventing their own classic styles with new fabrics, colours, materials and graphics.

Why: This nostalgic trend has allowed sneaker brands to stay relevant to their consumers from their youth through to their vintage years and cashes in on the vintage trend.

Baroque and rococo revival

What: A continuing romantic and decorative trend where the mixing of modern lines and materials has been combined with 17th and 18th century charm and detail.

Why: Reinterpretation of historical references is pivotal in the development of design. This trend has been the greatest inspiration on the mass market in the last decade.

Vintage

Now a valid and desirable resource for any designer, vintage no longer holds the stigma of "second-hand". The question now is - "when does ‘last season' become ‘vintage'?"

Vintage rock tees

The love of vintage tees never dies, especially those linked to bands and musical icons from the 70s and 80s. Their faded and worn style inspires each new generation of trendsetters and will continue to do so.

Sue Huey, Senior Editor: Footwear/Accessories

Top destination: Paris, France

"Paris is brilliant because it offers such a variety of styles. It has all the good department stores with every brand, then the little g>Why: This nostalgic trend has allowed sneaker brands to stay relevant to their consumers from their youth through to their vintage years and cashes in on the vintage trend.

Boutique Majid, Tangier, Morocco

Founder Abdelmajid has been collecting antique brocade kaftans, embroidered textiles, ceramics and other gems for decades - he hoards them in this treasure trove of a store, hidden in Tangier's dusty medina. Ask him to show you the tiny roof terrace and his collection of wooden pieces.

Sham Shui Po wholesale markets, Hong Kong

Stalls overflowing with trims, buttons, fabric, beads and vintage finds hidden in backrooms and down dust-filled alleyways make this market a true local resource. Start at Sham Shui Po MTR, and walk around the station across Fuk Wa, Fuk Wing, Apliu and Yu Chau streets.

Bodega, Boston, USA

Located behind a vending-machine-turned-trapdoor in a local convenience store in Boston's Back Bay neighbourhood, Bodega is an upscale skate store that caters to sneakerheads looking for one-of-a-kind, limited edition and vintage footwear. The store's merchandising combination of new and old, luxury and thrift, makes it popular with local Bostonians and in-the-know tourists alike.