Transparency becomes a key design element for Spring/Summer 2028, creating a delicate balance between structure and lightness. Rather than appearing as a purely decorative effect, transparency is integrated into different fabric constructions, bringing depth, movement and variation to both woven and knitted surfaces.

Lightweight cotton/nylon checks combine embossed surfaces with sheer effects, creating fabrics in which opacity and transparency coexist within the same construction. Fine stripes follow a similar approach, appearing as subtle contrasts on lightweight grounds or as more defined bands within open surfaces. These graphic patterns reinforce the importance of checks and stripes for the season, ranging from delicate lines to more visible proportions.

Colour plays an important role in enhancing these effects. Soft peach-pink tones appear across undulating knitwear surfaces, where irregular reliefs contrast with transparent stripes and open areas. The combination creates a sense of movement while retaining the lightness associated with summer dressing. Dusty pinks and warm apricot shades are among the season's delicate pastel accents, sitting alongside tinted whites and natural beiges.

Natural tones take a different direction in the ramage prints, where botanical motifs are developed in restrained shades across lightweight linen grounds. The printed patterns bring movement to the transparent surfaces without making them visually heavy. Sheer stripes alternate with printed areas, creating a layered effect in which the pattern remains visible while the fabric retains an airy appearance.

The emphasis on transparency also connects with the broader return to lightweight natural-fibre fabrics for Spring/Summer 2028. Cotton, linen and silk are prominent across the season, either used on their own or combined with man-made fibres to introduce specific performance and construction effects. In this direction, linen is particularly relevant for its natural appearance, while cotton-based constructions can be manipulated through weaving, finishing and fibre combinations to create more structured yet lightweight surfaces.

White linen constructions reinforce this open, lightweight feel. Their irregular textures and delicate structures emphasise the natural character of the fibre, while very pale shades contribute to the season's broader palette of tinted whites and evanescent neutrals. Alongside warmer beige tones inspired by unbleached linen and raw silk, these colours create a quiet backdrop for more expressive surface effects.

Knitwear interprets transparency through a different vocabulary. Openwork structures, sheer stripes and relief effects are combined with fluid or irregular surfaces, allowing the construction of the fabric itself to become part of the visual effect. The result ranges from delicate, almost lace-like surfaces to more graphic openwork patterns suitable for contemporary everyday dressing.

The contrast between transparent and opaque, smooth and embossed, structured and fluid is one of the defining principles behind this direction. Lightweight fabrics are not necessarily fragile in appearance: surface reliefs, checks, stripes and compact areas introduce structure, while sheer sections maintain the sense of movement and airiness expected for summer.

Pantone® references: Hazelnut 14-1315, Cloud Dancer 11-4201, Lamb’s Wool 12-0910, Tender Peach 12-0912, Tracing Gray 14-4605, Nomad 16-1212.

Interplay of Transparencies is one of nineteen boards in the Italtex Womenswear Colour and Fabric Trends Spring/Summer 2028 — eighty-eight Pantone-referenced colours, with woven, knitted and jacquard fabrics analysed by fibre, yarn, construction and finish. Available now.