ImagesMagUK_Digital_Edition_Feb18

www.images-magazine.com FEBRUARY 2018 images 43 POLO SHIRTS elastane polo-shirts are expected to boom. This is why in 2017 we launched the Phoenix Men and Phoenix Women polo shirts. The heavy, high quality, piqué and close-fitting cuts make them extremely comfortable to wear, and their no logo label at the neckline allows easy customisation. Do you think polos are generally seen as a basic, promotional item? Polos are not necessarily a basic item at Sol’s. We have very good sales of sophisticated polo shirts that are very fashionable, such as the polka-dot polo shirts Brandy Men and Brandy Women. What are the main types of decorations currently seen on polo shirts, and why do you think this is? Polo shirts are generally screen printed, digital printed or embroidered. In some cases, vinyl is applied for names and numbers. Our polo shirts are piqué or single jersey. Generally piqué structure is considered as having a better hand-feel, but it is a texturised, raised and patterned structure, which can make straight line printing more difficult. From a quality point of view, large size embroideries are generally not very comfortable to wear, so the preference tends to be for screen printing or digital printing. On the other hand, embroidery looks more ‘high end’. What’s the best/ most unusual decoration you’ve seen on a polo shirt? In high fashion, there is no limit. Our polo What are the key design trends in polos at the moment? Smaller collars and fitted polo shirts are currently trendy designs. Also, polo shirts with specific details such as stripes are on-trend because they bring more style to the garment. What colours are you expecting to be most popular with your polo buyers in 2018, and why? We believe heather colours, such as heather blue, heather burgundy and heather khaki, will be popular. Our brand new Paname Men and Paname Women polo shirts fit this trend since they exist in heather light jeans, as well as in heather black. Another trend for 2018 is polo shirts with stripes. Indeed, our Patriot Men and Patriot Women polo shirts include contrasting stripes under the collar as well as a contrasting cuff tag and tape in the button placket. The stripes remind us of the colours of some national flags and football teams. This polo shirt will be great during the next football World Cup in order to support the national teams! What polo fabrics have customers been asking you for over the past year, and why do you think that is? In the UK, polycotton is a preferred fabric, and our Prime Men and Prime Women polo shirts perfectly answer that demand. We’ve also observed that customers are now looking for high quality polo shirts with more comfort, so cotton/ Helene Gadenne, category manager at Sol’s, discusses stripes, smaller collars and cotton/elastane fabrics in polos Talking polos with Helene Gadenne shirts have been decorated with a combination of sequins, patches and embroideries. What’s the best piece of marketing and/or sales advice you can give to Images readers to help them sell more Sol’s polos? We would tell them to highlight the advantages of our polo shirt range. Our range doesn’t only have an optimal price/quality ratio, it also comes in an array of styles, colours, fabrics, fits and sizes. Moreover, we believe that our polo shirt range clearly represents the Sol’s Anywear concept ‘for everybody, for each moment, for any time, for anywhere’, meaning that it perfectly caters to every activity, profession or event. www.sols-europe.com [Above] The new Paname style comes in fashionable heather shades [Below] Stripes, such as on the Patriot, are a big trend [Right] Polos such as the Brandy style are more than just a basic item