Designers at AHEAD Reveal Top Five Headwear Trends for 2014

(NEW BEDFORD, Mass.) — The experts at AHEAD have identified the top five hottest trends in headwear for 2014.

1. Colors that pop – Just take a good look at players on any of golf’s professional tours, or go no further than your local club, and you may have to shield your eyes.  Golfers today are seeking bolder, brighter colors.  AHEAD has responded for 2014 by introducing sunkist, comet orange, marigold, Georgia green, lagoon blue, cornsilk yellow, boysenberry, azalea, periwinkle, and both hot and power pink.  If you can’t find the color you want, you’re simply not looking hard enough!

2. Fit as a Fiddle – We’ve all had them, those “one-size-almost-fits-your-head” hats that you bought because they had a great look but regrettably a dreadful fit.  AHEAD continues its quest to satisfy the growing “proper fit” appetite by taking a tailored approach to providing the golfer with options.  For the first time in a few years, AHEAD has introduced a new size – the “mid fit.”  It is designed to represent that perfect fit between the existing extreme cut (for the wearer who prefers a more shallow cap) and classic cut (for the average to deep head shape).  AHEAD introduces the mid cut with the debut of the Newport Washed Cap collection, a washed-twill line with 13 color choices.

3. ‘Hi’ tech – Yes, we’re bombarded by high-tech products everywhere we look so why not with our hats? Technical fabrics don’t have to “look” technical.  The designers at AHEAD have responded with three smart tech caps for 2014 that more than fit the bill: Tech Mesh Fitted Cap, Smooth Lightweight Tech Cap and Textured Tech with Lip Cap.

4. Total washout – Anything more hip than a cap that has a “washed out” look but that brand-new feel?  Apparently so, as the “washed out” cap is all the rage for 2014.  Just ask the experts at AHEAD – they’re introducing the new, yet nostalgic, Newport Washed Twill Cap and Sandblasted Canvas Cap collections.  Moreover, they’re bringing back no fewer than seven of their “Pigment Dyed” style caps: Solid, Sandwich, Two-Tone, Long Bill, Mesh and Dyed Contrast.  Check out the Nantucket Red/Navy Pigment Dyed Two-Tone cap – it’s a keeper.

5. Ornamentation Techniques – AHEAD’s new alternative graphics for Performance headwear focus on a combination of direct and raised embroidery, and printed labels using modern fonts in combination with golf club logos.  Verbiage is the focal point for a neater, cleaner look.  The printed Coolmax labels allow for lots of detail at small sizes so the front ornamentation does not overpower the technical appeal of the cap.

More casual caps like the “washed twill” and “sandblasted canvas” caps, both with a nostalgic appearance, require complementary graphics. The lettering styles keep with the traditional feel of the caps – advertising and packaging lettering from the 1930s and ’40s, athletic scripts from the ’50s and ’60s, timeless collegiate fonts, and distressed “vintage” canvas labels that appear to be as washed and worn as the caps on which they are embroidered.

“Creativity has been at the heart of the company since day one, and it is what our customers have always embraced about us,” said Chuck Lord, chief operating officer for AHEAD.  “The trends we are seeing are well represented in our 2014 offerings.”

For additional information about AHEAD, visit www.aheadweb.com.

Contact: NEOhioGolf@yahoo.com